A Christmas to Remember
by tavia454
Summary: Yugi and Atemu, Atemu and Yugi, both have caught Anzu's attention for their differences as well as their likenesses. But when she notices something that she hasn't before she decides to help them get together. Will she succeed? YxY
1. Chapter 1

"Woah, Anzu! Do you see that look?" Miho whispered excitedly. "Talk about scorching...!"

Anzu looked up distractedly from the latest copy of her monthly doujinshi, which had just come in the mail that very morning – a nice little Christmas present hiding handily inside the cover of her notebook so that none of the other students had the slightest clue of what she was really studying. "Huh? Who are you...?"

Miho only hooked an inconspicuous thumb over towards the edge of the cafeteria by the west hall. Curious blue eyes glanced discreetly in the direction that her friend had just indicated only to see Atemu lounging indolently against the wall, his intense ruby gaze directed somewhere behind and just to the right of their little group, a possessive gleam evident in his eyes.

Swiveling around to see just what had caught the elegant game king's attention she spied Yugi's smaller form approaching from the other side of the cafeteria, still bundled up in his winter gear from his late start that morning, completely oblivious to the smoldering gaze that was being aimed at him as he rifled distractedly through his papers. Anzu frowned at the implications of that heated gaze, her eyes darting between the two look-alikes without turning her head.

Could it possibly be...?

Speaking of Yugi, he'd been awfully quiet over the past couple of months, and she had caught him staring off into space more than once, a soft blush staining his features. Her astonished gaze shot back over to its original target. Atemu. The former Pharaoh was _always_ within sight when Yugi spaced out. Always. Anzu gave a mental pout as she realized that while she had been so caught up in her crush on the two of them she had missed out on what might possibly be developing between them. And she glanced between the two of them again, the gears turning in her head.

Could it possibly be...?

" – wonder who that's directed at?" Miho rambled persistently, tugging on the brunette's sleeve. "He's so gorgeous! What I wouldn't give for him to throw a look like that my way! I mean, seriously, who wouldn't die for a chance with him. He's got looks, money, style...He's probably really good in...Hey, you're friends with him, why don't you – "

Anzu only shook her head, tuning out Miho's incessant chatter. She already knew that Atemu would have nothing to do with her friend. Not that Miho was a bad person, she just liked to talk. A lot. As in on and on and on. With a roll of her eyes, the bemused brunette gave another glance between her two friends. There was a whole lot more to that sizzling look than just the bond between instructor and protégé, she'd bet money on it. How long had this been going on? And why hadn't she noticed it before?

" – Oh my god, he's coming this way!" Miho began to fidget, drawing Anzu's thoughts away from her two friends as the sleeve of her shirt was nearly ripped from her arm. She shot the blonde an exasperated look.

Leave it to Miho to be such a drama queen. Yes, Atemu was gorgeous with his slanted scarlet eyes and his chiseled, angular features, but Yugi was just as beautiful, his soft features and stunning smile able to light up any room, and yet due to his quiet nature no one ever seemed to notice him. Come to think of it, though, Yugi had been looking more and more like his darker half lately. Anzu gave a wistful sigh. Somehow her petite, gentle friend was managing to grow up without her noticing.

But before Anzu was able to muse over these new developments any further Miho gave another sharp tug on her sleeve, a little too excited over Atemu's presence for Anzu's piece of mind. Giving a pointed look at Miho's over-exuberance, she patted the blonde on her arm, trying to calm her before she embarrassed herself any more than she already had.

"Hey Anzu, Miho." Yugi's unexpected voice from just over her shoulder caused the brunette to spin around and nearly lose her balance due to Miho's demanding grip on her shirt.

"Oh, hey Yugi." Anzu replied casually, righting herself as she shot another discreet glance over at Atemu, only to find that he had managed to mask the obviousness of his emotions in the short time it had taken her smaller friend to reach their little group. Another tug on her sleeve attempted to draw her attention but she determinedly ignored it to smile at her closest friend. "How's it going with you?"

Yugi opened his mouth to answer –

" – Anzu, Yugi..ah...?" Atemu acknowledged them with a regal nod as he stepped into the midst of the quickly growing circle, closely followed by Malik and Ryou who came from somewhere in the crowd. Miho gave a shrill giggle and the former Pharaoh raised a questioning brow at her behavior. Shortly afterward Malik and Ryou began to nudge each other, snickering quietly and making moon eyes at former Pharaoh behind his back.

"Atemu, Miho, one of my friends from junior high that just moved back into town, Miho, Atemu, Grandfather Sugoroku adopted him during our trip to Egypt this past summer." Anzu said as quickly as she could, cringing as she waited for the fallout.

"Ah, nice to meet you, Miho." Atemu gave another nod in greeting before turning to address his smaller copy with a smile, resulting in an adorable blush from Yugi.

Miho only gave a giggle, fluttering her lashes coyly. "Nice to meet you too, Atemu. You have a beautiful name – "

As Miho continued to spout off about any topic she could think of, out of the corner of her eye Anzu caught sight of Malik and Ryou's blatantly obvious attempts to mimic her actions. She simply closed her eyes, wishing for the floor to swallow her up. As much as she loved her friend from the lower grades she found herself wishing that Miho had not transferred back to Domino this past week. The girl was going to make a fool of herself.

And with those two around – or Malik at least – there was little chance that Miho's unrequited crush would not make the gossip rounds within the day. Atemu turned, nearly catching the two in their play, to give them an inquisitive look, only to have Ryou and Malik smile back innocently.

"Hey...Other, uh Atemu...Ryou, Malik." Yugi replied after Miho finally took a breath, turning his attention back to Anzu to whisper conspiratorially. "To answer your earlier question; it's going okay, had a stupid pop quiz in math, so watch out. The smell of 'mouthwash' is overpowering again...I think Mr. Bender's on a – " He snickered quietly. "bender."

With a roll of her eyes, Anzu reached out and pulled the maneuver that she most often used on Jounouchi – she smacked Yugi gently upside the back of his head, smiling as she did so. "Hahaha, I get it. Very funny, wise ass. You think he's drunk_ again_?"

"Hey!" He pouted, smoothing his hair back into its normal spikes as he ducked his head. "That wasn't fair. But yeah...he's acting all weird and stuff. That was so not called for, Anzu."

"Neither was your early morning humor, Aibou." Atemu laughed, coming to stand before Yugi only to tweak his nose. The smaller of the two waved him off, notebook poised to come crashing down on his head should he entertain the idea of doing so again. "Some of us are not awake enough to understand the significance of your wit at this hour. And leave your instructor alone...if he has been drinking its only because you all drove him to it." He grinned.

"Oh whatever!" Yugi protested, to which Atemu answered by poking him in the ribs. This started a small scuffle that everyone in the group laughed at as Yugi found himself locked up in his other half's tight embrace. "Okay! I give!" He shouted laughingly.

"As well you should, Aibou. You know better than to go up against me in a game of wits." Atemu prodded the smaller teen one last time before letting go.

Once the two of them settled down Yugi bumped his taller look-alike with his hip, causing Atemu to reach for the boy's waist in order to keep his balance. "You've never been a morning person, Oth...Atemu. But just cause you're not doesn't mean that none of the rest of us are."

"Speak for yourself Yugi." Malik chimed in with a wide yawn, Ryou only shaking his head.

Anzu watched the exchange silently, ignoring Miho's giggles at their display, noting how close the duo's behavior came to actual flirting. With a quiet sigh she came to the realization that she needed to get her head out of all the shonen-ai stories that she carried around with her for light reading. There couldn't be anything going on between her friends...could there? She took another surreptitious glance as Yugi and Atemu moved on to another topic, this time including Miho and the others in their discussion.

The two of them were close...no, they were closer than close. They shared everything – notes, lunches, clothing, she thought they might even share a room, honestly she wouldn't be surprised if they actually shared a bed, they were literally that close. It wouldn't be that far of a stretch to think that...Anzu closed her eyes._ I'm so reading too much into this..._

" – so what do you think, Anzu?" Yugi queried, pulling her quickly out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Anzu had the grace to blush at being caught off guard. "About what, Yugi?"

"About throwing a Christmas party over at the game shop." Yugi gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

She blinked. "I think that sounds like an awesome idea." And waved off his concern. "I'm fine...I just remembered that I have a test this afternoon. I had forgotten about it. But that sounds great, do you need me to bring anything?"

"Nah, Oth...Atemu and I got it covered." He replied breezily, giving her an impish grin. "You guys just need to show up and have some fun. It'll do us all some good to relax and unwind."

"And have a couple of drinks." Malik grinned, earning a blank look from Ryou and a disapproving frown from Atemu and Miho. "Aw come on! A guy's got to have fun sometime!"

"If you say so." Atemu replied. Just then the bell rang, startling everyone in the group. The former spirit glanced over at Yugi. "Are you ready for chemistry, Aibou? I seem to recall you not having done your homework from yesterday."

"Oh shi-shoot! I forgot!" Yugi slapped a hand over his face. "I gotta go guys, I'll see ya!"

With that he turned and fled down the hall, leaving his darker half to stare after him – and Anzu to watch Atemu's expression. It was just that quick, that if she hadn't been watching so closely she would have thought that she had read too much into their actions, but there it was again, that look of complete longing, of infatuation. Atemu was crushing on Yugi, that was a fact. But how did Yugi feel about the former spirit? Was she right in her thinking? Now that was the question.

"Damn...I really don't want to deal with algebra right now." Malik muttered sullenly. But yet he gave a halfhearted wave and sauntered off down another hallway, grumbling to himself.

"Dork." Ryou rolled his eyes as he glanced around, pulling his backpack up further on his shoulder before taking a step out of the group. "Yeah...well, have fun all, I'll see you after school."

"I have to go as well." Atemu nodded in Anzu's direction, having completely masked his feelings once again.

She grinned at him, already seeing through his act. Oh the fun she could have with this situation. "See you guys!"

"Bye Atemu." Miho waved excitedly. Once he was gone she turned to Anzu. "Oh, isn't he just the sweetest! I swear I'm in love...I've got to have him! And you've got to help me, Anzu...Uh...Anzu? Anzu?"

But Anzu had other things on her mind as she waved distractedly at her friend, leaving the hall for her own class. Atemu and Yugi. Yugi and Atemu. Both so beautiful...She'd had a crush on both of them for the longest time, never daring to ask after either of them, not only for the sake of their friendship but for the fact that she couldn't have chosen one over the other if her life depended on it.

They were like a package deal; if one was around then the other wasn't far behind. Even during the time Atemu was trying to adjust to his new life it was still that way. They were literally a twin fantasy come true. And she did so love her twin fantasies. Her newest doujinshi attested greatly to this fact, featuring all her twin-esque anime crushes in one large volume.

Anzu's heart skipped a beat when she envisioned her two almost identically attractive friends locked in a loving embrace, desire evident in their eyes, their lips only millimeters apart. Her face colored, and as she slipped in the door to her class she hid her blush behind a curtain of hair, sure that someone, somewhere would be able to read her dirty thoughts. She rushed to her seat and slapped her books down on the desk, busying herself with finding her assignment from the night before, paying no attention to the idle chatter going on around her.

Wow, that was a mental picture. She could have drooled at the vivid image of the two of them together. They would be perfect together. _Wonder which one would play submissive? They're both so competitive..._She grimaced the instant that erotic thought crossed her mind, and then her head hit the desk with a dull thud. That was enough of that, she groaned, this was getting out of hand and it was only the first day that she even suspected something was up.

Just then the instructor walked in the door, immediately requesting their assignments and she was glad to have something else to occupy her time. She needed to discuss this with someone. Someone who would understand her thinking.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

The group met up again after the last bell of the day rang, this time without Miho thankfully, as the blonde girl had left only moments ago to catch the bus. And to Anzu's relief she had managed to put her x-rated fantasies behind her so that she could look her friends in the eye when they spoke – a hard feat to be sure, with all of those risqué thoughts swimming around her brain. They said goodbye to Ryou and Malik, just outside the gates of the school grounds, beginning the long, excruciatingly cold walk home while discussing the obscene amount of homework that they had been given, Jounouchi's extended absence and the new substitute in the chemistry lab.

But during the course of their walk home Atemu did something that brought that fantasy back with a vengeance, and her questions right along with it. Most likely the former Pharaoh didn't mean it, he was only doing what he would have done for his smaller partner at any time during their association. But nevertheless it brought that fantasy right back to the forefront of Anzu's mind, and kept it there during the remainder of their walk.

"Oh!" Yugi cried out as the toe of his boot caught in the uneven, ice-filled crack of the sidewalk. He was going down for sure. Visions of skinned palms and knees danced around his brain and he closed his eyes, awaiting impact.

Only to blink uncertainly when the pain wasn't forthcoming. It was then that he noticed a pair of strong arms had encircled his waist and were dragging him back from an unfortunate meeting with the pavement. "Perhaps you ought to watch where you are going, Aibou." Atemu gave a husky laugh once he had the boy safely in his arms, drawing Yugi in against his body as he settled him back on his feet, gathering the backpack off of the cement and handing it back. "It would save you many skinned knees and hands."

Yugi coughed slightly, squirming against his savior as he attempted to right himself. "Uh, thank you, Other Me..." A blush steadily rising over his wide-eyed features.

"It was no problem. You would have done the same for me." Atemu replied as he casually strolled ahead of the two of them, hiding a blush of his own within the confines of his down-filled winter coat.

And Anzu's mind went wild at their adorable reaction toward each other, supplying her with enough images to start her own exclusive doujinshi. There was the answer to her question of earlier. The feeling _was_ mutual. The two of them were acting like a couple of kids crushing on each other. She had to help get them together. She just had to. There was no one in the world better suited to the two of them than each other. And now that she knew of their feelings she wouldn't let anyone come between them, not even Miho.

They approached the game shop where Atemu and Yugi gave a friendly wave before disappearing into the store front, leaving Anzu to walk the last few, freezing paces to her own door not three houses away. She rushed into the house, threw off her coat, and snatched up the phone, wracking her brain for someone to call and share her news with. Someone to plot with over how to get her two friends together.

"Jounouchi!" She exclaimed, dialing the number from memory.

As it rang she recalled the long, bumpy path that had taken their blonde friend from broken-down son of an alcoholic to fiancée of the richest teen in Domino. It had taken those two forever to get together, for their feelings had become somewhat evident well before Atemu had been granted a physical presence by the gods, well before Battle City. In all honesty she probably could have pointed to Duelist Kingdom as the time when the two of them had started to develop feelings for each other. And that was nearly a year ago.

"Yeah...you rang?" A raspy, sleep-filled voice answered.

Oh no! Jou was still recovering. "Oh Jou...I'm sorry, I don't mean to bug you." Anzu replied guiltily. She had forgotten all about his illness in her excitement. "I'll just call you later this week."

"Nah, it's okay." Jou called out before she got the chance to ring off. "'m sick of layin' here doin' nuthin. What's up, Anzu?"

She smiled into the phone. She had to admit it was good to hear his voice. He had been so sick this past week. "Not much, Jou. How are you feeling?"

He sighed heavily into his end of the phone. "Better. Lots better. I'm hopin' to be back at school next week."

"That's good to hear. We miss you." She replied, pacing the floor. "Especially Yugi...he's been so quiet lately. You had us all really worried."

Jou gave a hoarse chuckle, which ended in a wheeze. "Yeah...scared me too. And Seto. He's actually gone and taken the week off just to help me...he won't say it, but I think he's gone soft."

She could hear the outraged exclamation of the blonde's future spouse, and the CEO of Kaiba Corporation over the phone and she gave another laugh. Jounouchi was good for him, obviously, just as he was for Jou. The pair were such a great match for all their arguments and battles of pride. If they could only get over their competitive streak. Or maybe not, it was such an intricate part of their relationship, almost like a peculiar sort of foreplay.

"Well, good for him, Jou." She murmured. "He needs to take a break every once in a while or he'll end up coming down with something worse than what you had. I'm just glad to hear you're feeling better."

"Yeah, yeah...so come on, you gotta have the good gossip, right?" Jou changed the subject. "I'm dyin' over here...bored to death. I'm so sick of bein' sick! So tell me what's goin' on?"

She gave a light giggle at his obvious discomfort over their concern. "Well...I have more of a problem than gossip...and I'm kinda hoping that you can help..."

Jou perked up. "Who's givin' you shit? Or are they givin' Yugi shit?What's up?"

"Oh no, nothing like that...I just..." Anzu cleared her throat, suddenly feeling like she was about to give away a secret that wasn't hers to give, the enormity of what she was about to undertake weighing down upon her. Was this truly something she wanted to do? What if she was wrong? Was she? Instead of coming right out with it she decided to edge around the topic until she could figure out how she wanted to approach the subject. "I was...just kind of concerned about Yugi..."

"What about Yug?" Jou questioned, suddenly concerned. "What's goin' on?"

"No, its nothing bad, Jou...He's just so quiet lately and I think that he's...oh, I don't know, maybe got a crush on someone..." She trailed off, allowing the other to take the bait.

Jou only laughed. "Well hell, Anzu, everyone knows he's got a major crush on Atemu. I can't believe it took you this long to notice. Think about it, the two of 'em are really two halves of one soul...or however Isis said it. How'd ya find this out? He hasn't really been all that open about it."

"Oh...just watching...seeing things I haven't before, you know." She prevaricated, stunned that she wasn't the only one that knew of the duo's hidden feelings for each other. "I didn't know that anyone knew about this. I want to help them, Jou."

"Ah, yeah..." Jou yawned into the phone, making her realize how much of a toll the conversation was taking on him. "You ain't gonna get Yug to admit his feelings for Atemu, not without somethin' from him...and I dunno how he feels about the whole thing. Trust me, I tried."

Anzu blushed, recalling that scorching look from earlier. "Oh I don't know...from what I saw today I'm thinking he feels the same and just isn't going to come out with it until he gets some encouragement from Yugi."

That news got Jou excited as he literally yelled into the phone. "Seriously? You mean to tell me that Atemu's let the mask slip long enough for someone to tell he's not dead and just walkin' around for spite?"

"Jou!" Anzu laughed. "That wasn't nice!"

But it was so true. Atemu rarely ever gave away what he was feeling or thinking. As far as their tight knit little clan was concerned the former Pharaoh could have gone on to the afterlife with little to no regret with as much emotion as he let slip from behind that mask of implacable calm. Their friend was so closed off, in fact, that Malik had once offered to poke him with a sewing needle just to see if he would respond. Bakura had offered to do more than that, but the offers were both graciously declined by Yugi when he found out about their plotting.

"But its true." Jou whined. "Come on, tell me its not."

Anzu giggled lightly. "Okay, okay, you win. He is rather much like those statues you see on the history channel...all up tight and still as stone – "

"Oh please..." Jou snorted. "If you stuck a lump o' coal up his ass you'd get a diamond back in two days!"

At this Anzu had to laugh – loudly. Jounouchi had such a colorful way with words. She could hear Kaiba's voice through the phone as the blue-eyed CEO took exception to the comment. And she laughed even harder when the two of them started bickering good-naturedly at each other. She missed this. She missed this very much. Finally, after a few choice words for his fiancée, Jou came back on the line.

"Ah, Seto says I gotta go...but before I do, I wanna know what'cha planning."

She glanced at the calendar on the wall. "There's three weeks until Christmas – oh, and Yugi's throwing the party this year. But anyways, I want to get them together by that time. Just think on it for me will you? We'll talk more when you're feeling better."

"I can do that." Jou responded, his grin heard down the phone line. "I'll talk at'cha later."

Anzu held the phone tighter, as if she could hug him through the cord. "Yeah. Feel better okay? I'll see you soon."

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Meanwhile, as Anzu and Jou were talking, Yugi dropped his overstuffed backpack on the floor of his room, kicking aside some of the clean laundry that he had forgotten to put away over the weekend. He heaved a forlorn sigh and wandered over to his bed, flopping down face first on the mattress. Reaching beneath the pillow he pulled out his ipod and stuffed the ear pieces in his ears, switching it on to drown out his thoughts, not that it worked, but it was at least something to try rather than doing nothing.

As Paramore's Crushcrushcrush came on he berated himself mentally for the earlier mishap. Oh god, he was such a klutz! Why did he always have to make such a fool of himself in front of his darker half? It wasn't nearly so bad when they had shared one body, but now, now that Atemu was his own person incidents like that were always happening. And it was all due to his paying more attention to his darkness than to where he was going, so if he looked stupid in front of the other it was his own fault.

But there had been a bright side to the incident. He had gotten to feel the warmth of his other's arms around him, even if only for a brief moment or two. And that had made it almost worth it – almost. But he still came out looking like a fool for doing something as stupid as tripping over a tiny crack in the sidewalk. Would there ever come a day where he didn't come off looking completely incompetent in front of the former spirit? Or was he doomed to always be the butt-end of a joke around his gorgeous darkness?

Yugi's thoughts stuttered to a halt at that question. Before Atemu had first appeared to him as a spirit he had always thought himself straight. But once he had been the recipient of a glance from those stunning ruby eyes – even in ethereal form – he had forgotten all about his crush on Anzu, seeing those eyes in his dreams, hearing that deep, velvet-soft voice in his fantasies. And now that the teen Pharaoh was a physical entity his dreams had evolved into something almost worthy of a steamy pornographic movie.

It was sad really, the erotic cast his nightly dreams had taken on since his other half's appearance. He could well picture that regal face in his mind, the angular jaw, deep-set, exotic scarlet eyes that seemed to see into his very soul every time they glanced his way, thick eyelashes that any girl in his school would give their gucci handbag for. And that body. Yugi could feel his face heating up as he recalled the last time that he had come across his other half wandering the upper floor of the house clad in nothing but a fluffy white towel.

His darkness was all lean, chiseled muscle mass, with curves in all the right places, and long, shapely bronze legs. Briefly he wondered how it was possible that someone only a scant inch or so taller than him was able to have legs that seemed to go on forever, but the thought was lost as he recalled his embarrassing reaction when Atemu, not realizing that he had wandered into the room, bent over in front of him to gather his clothes, nearly losing his towel in the process.

The heat rushed to Yugi's face and he jumped from the bed. He tossed the ipod towards his pillow, bolting from the room in search of a cold shower. He couldn't stand the sensual, arousing images any longer, they were doing things to his body that he'd rather no one found evidence of. He shot down the hallway toward the bathroom only to slam face first into the one person he least wanted to see, toppling them both to the floor.

Oh joy. This was just not his day – again.

"Aibou where – hey!" Atemu landed on the ground, with a thoroughly freaked out Yugi lying on top of him. What was this all about? "Are you alright, Aibou? What's wrong?"

"No-nothing, other...Atemu...just have to pee." Yugi responded, untangling himself from the other's limbs, blushing furiously at this latest blunder. Oh, how he wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole. And then maybe he wouldn't have to worry about his darkness's reaction if he happened to notice his _little_ problem. "Sorry, sorry...I..."

Atemu pulled them both up the rest of the way, taking Yugi's face in his hand and searching his eyes. "Relax little one, you may call me as you wish, you know this. All those outside our group think they're just cute nicknames that we gave to each other." He searched a little more, taking in the whole of the smaller teen's frazzled appearance, and pressed the back of his hand to Yugi's forehead. "Are you certain that you're not coming down with what Jou had? You look awfully flushed, Aibou. Perhaps you should rest for the day. Grandpa can deal with your instructors if need be, for missed homework."

Yugi's heart fluttered at the contact and he jerked back away from Atemu's touch, apologizing once again as he looked for an escape. But the moment he moved Atemu's eyes narrowed and the other seemed to have come to a split second decision about how he was truly feeling. Yugi ducked his head beneath the intensity of his darkness's keen gaze and offered a silent prayer that the regal teen would just let leave him be and go on about his business. However, he knew that with someone as intuitive as Atemu around there was a good chance that was not going to happen.

"You _are _coming down with something." Atemu decided, leaving Yugi weak-kneed with relief at his erroneous conclusion, only to be caught off guard when he next said. "Or hiding something...or both. Either way, you need to rest, Aibou. You have been working too hard lately."

Yugi edged away from the conversation. "Oh, haha, I uh...just so much on my mind right now, Other Me. I uh...I'm not hiding anything from you guys, honest...I just...I'll be back in a minute..."

And he bolted to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him, but not before hearing his darkness's parting comments on the topic. "Just know that I am here for you should you decide that you wish to talk about whatever it is that bothers you." Atemu called. "And when you are finished I want you back in bed. I'll make dinner tonight, you just rest."

"Sure thing." Yugi called weakly through the closed door as he slid to the carpet, plucking at a few strands in his preoccupation. Well, that didn't exactly go as he wanted it to. Now his other half was going to watch him like a hawk. Which was only going to make him even more nervous. And the more nervous he got the more accident prone he became. Now what was he supposed to do? If this continued the gorgeous former spirit was going to consider him nothing but a burdensome child, an image he desperately tried to rid himself of when the other first came on the scene.

Damn, he needed to do some fast thinking – and talking – to get himself out of this mess.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

_That was...Strange_...Atemu shook his head, heading back down the hallway with the papers that he had come up to his room for. He needed Grandfather Mutou's signature in order to get into the advanced physics class that he and Yugi had signed up for earlier in the year.

Yugi had done it the moment that the paperwork had come home, but he had been procrastinating, wondering if he wanted to try his hand at such an overwhelming class. Truthfully the subject fascinated him, seeing as it was his first time learning about such things, and in the end he had come to the decision to take the course right along with his little one, for more than just his own curiosity.

Ever since his separation with Yugi not more than four months ago the former Pharaoh had found himself nearly overwhelmed by all that this new world had to offer. And he had briefly drifted from the group, shutting himself off in order to study this modern age, and the people in it – to gather his thoughts and figure out who he was supposed to be in this life.

It had taken him a couple of weeks to get his bearings, to learn to cope with the changes, and once he did he asked for their forgiveness of his preoccupation, realizing where it was that he truly wanted to be. And the group had welcomed him back into their fold with open arms, never once chiding him for his need for space. But in that time something had changed between him and his lighter half. On his end, as well as on Yugi's. And for a while it tore at his heart as he tried to rebuild the bond they once shared.

From the moment that his Aibou had first solved the puzzle and freed him from his lonely, solitary prison Atemu had developed a bond of hero worship with the boy. And it had continued that way throughout his time spend as a bodiless spirit stuck in the physical realm. But it wasn't until he had attained a physical presence that he realized just what that bond had morphed into. And it frightened him how profound his attraction to the petite, beautiful puzzle-holder had become.

He wanted Yugi to himself, beside him for the rest of his days, to be able to look into those stunning amethyst eyes and know that he was needed, that he was wanted. In truth that was part of the reason he distanced himself from the group. He was deathly afraid that he would scare his Aibou off if the other ever found out about the intensity of his feelings. It was something he would never, ever do. To risk not having even the slightest bond with his other would be nothing short of a sin. Yugi had given him so much, who was he to impose any more?

"Here are the papers, Grandfather Mutou." Atemu called out to the elderly man as he stepped through the door between the shop and the house. "They require your signature in order for me to attend this class."

Sugoroku took the papers from his adopted grandson and glanced them over. "Hm, well my boy, have you thought about what you want to do with this second chance? What you want from life this time around?"

Atemu nodded, a faraway look to his eyes as he murmured. "That I have...but I doubt that what I desire is anywhere near my reach."

The older man gave a harsh laugh, appraising his newest charge with a knowing eye before leaning over to apply his signature to the paper. "Humph, I think that what you're wishing for is a lot closer than you think, Atemu. All you need to do is reach for it."

"I'll think about it, Grandfather." Atemu reluctantly admitted as he gathered the signed papers and made his way back into the house. Oh yeah, he would think on it alright. And deny himself all the same. Yugi was too good for the likes of him. After all the times his mere presence, let alone his selfish intentions, had put the boy in life threatening situations, Yugi was way too good for him.

"You do that Atemu." Sugoroku called out as the door shut. "And when you're done do it again, cause what you want isn't going to wait around forever for you to decide." But it was too late, he doubted that the former Pharaoh had even heard a word he said.

"Teenagers." The old man snorted. Even he could tell what was going on between his grandson and the former Pharaoh. And contrary to popular belief about people his age he agreed wholeheartedly with their choice of partners.

He reached for some of the new Christmas stock that he had been pricing and began to assemble the colorful displays, speaking quietly to no one in particular, as he was frequently known to do. "I swear they're going to drown in their angsty, no-one-understand-what-I'm-going-through mood swings. Pfft, as if I haven't been there."

And then he proceeded to set up the new displays around the shop, wondering at the stubbornness of the two individuals that were occupying the upstairs apartment. Hopefully, with some luck, and maybe a little push the two of them would finally realize how much they mean to each other. But until then he was stuck with a pair of moody, angsty teens on his hands. Oh lord, he wished someone would intervene. Someone that they would listen to, cause it was either that or he ended up killing one of them with his bare hands. They were driving him crazy.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~


	2. Chapter 2

Ah yes, the cliché Christmas fic. This one only has four chapters so I won't be uploading as frequently as the other ones. However, since it is Christmas, enjoy!

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Anzu shot a conspiratorial grin in Jounouchi's direction the moment they walked through the door to morning homeroom, spotting both Yugi and Atemu sitting quietly at their desks before the bell rang. Jou winked at her, returning the grin as he slid into a seat behind Yugi, ruffling the smaller teen's hair as he did so, and receiving a book to the forehead from his flustered friend for his teasing. The two finally calmed, shooting each other a playful grin as Anzu looked on from her seat behind and to the right of Atemu.

While it was true that they didn't have much of a plan, what they did have was better than nothing. There was only two weeks left until Christmas. Two weeks in which to accomplish their mission. And come hell or high water they were going to get it done.

"Oh Atemu, I have something for you." Miho intoned as she entered the classroom just moments before the ringing of the final bell. She shot a regretful grin towards the substitute teacher and casually dropped a note on Atemu's desk, giving a lingering touch to his shoulder as she wandered past to take her own seat next to Anzu, immediately fishing in her backpack for her books.

Atemu froze solid at the unexpected contact, and Yugi quickly turned to face the front of the room. Due to Yugi's place in the seating arrangement none of them saw the tightening of the smaller duplicate's features as he watched the exchange. He slumped down in his seat, missing Atemu's astonished expression and the glares that both Jou and Anzu aimed at Miho's bent head. Chewing on his bottom lip he lowered his head to hide his eyes.

Yugi heaved a disappointed sigh, wiping an unexpected spot of moisture from his eyes, after witnessing the scene. He had known it was only a matter of time before one of Atemu's fan club acted on their desires. In truth he was surprised that not only did it take one of them this long to act, but that it was the new girl who had done it. He remembered Miho from the lower grades. She had always had a kind smile for him whenever their paths had crossed, and he couldn't blame her for her crush.

His darker half just had a way with people, and they tended to gravitate towards his commanding presence like hungry moths to an enticing flame. He didn't begrudge his other that, though, if anything he had always been in awe of Atemu's ability to influence others with only a look or a word. It was something he had never been able to do. He hated crowds, and he couldn't speak in public to save his life – as evidenced during Kaiba's last tournament when the insistent crowd had wanted a couple of words from him.

But damn it, he wanted Atemu to belong to him.

Atemu, oblivious to his lighter half's thoughts, cautiously poked at the note on his desk, not quite knowing what to do with it. Well, he knew he was supposed to open it, but if he did that then he would have to acknowledge the blonde girl's infatuation with him. And that was something that he desperately wanted to avoid. He had always gone out of his way to let others know that he was unavailable even if he was single. Doing it that way cut off the need for unnecessary and embarrassing scenes.

But this new girl, friend of Anzu's or not, didn't seem to take the hints that he had been dropping. Not a one of them. Hell, he had even gone so far as to allow himself to be seen gazing at Yugi the week before, despite the fact that Anzu or one of the others could have caught him. Of course he had taken the precaution of making sure that Anzu's attention was elsewhere (like buried in the doujinshi that he knew she always carried around with her) before he leaned up against the wall and let his mind wander, undressing his little one with his eyes as he allowed the fantasy of their love to take hold of him.

It was a risk, for he knew that one of their friends would definitely mention his infatuation to Yugi had they witnessed it. But thankfully no one had noticed. Unfortunately for him, though, the persistent blonde girl didn't seem to get the hint that his eyes were for one person and one person only.

Finally, with a sigh and a prayer, Atemu opened the note. It was as he expected. The words _meet me after school_ were written in an elegant cursive across the paper. He glared impotently at his desk, ignoring the substitute's lame attempts to start the morning lecture. He just had this sinking feeling that this was not going to end well. Quickly he jotted a lame excuse not to attend the meeting and punted it back towards the girl in question. Then he turned back in his seat to study his Aibou's withdrawn form.

What was wrong with Yugi this morning?

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

"So what do we do now?" Anzu questioned her new partner in crime as they beat a hasty retreat from their homeroom. The group all had different classes in the next hour and there would be no time for planning for this unexpected dilemma. Miho's persistence was going to end up screwing something up. She just knew it.

Jou paused mid-step to look her in the eye. "We...aw fuck it all, I didn't expect this! I remember Miho's crush on Honda in middle school, she was relentless. Atemu don't stand a chance."

"Yeah, but Honda returned her feelings." Anzu replied as they resumed their quick pace. "So it was mutual. Atemu's crushin' on Yugi, so she's the one who doesn't stand a chance. Damn, I thought that I had given her enough warning on Friday when she tried to get him alone between classes."

"We'll figure it out, don't worry about it." Jou patted her on the back sympathetically. "This's my stop, I'll see ya later."

Anzu gave a half-hearted wave as he disappeared into the classroom, clutching her books to her chest as she contemplated confronting Atemu on his infatuation. She had him in this next class, and she could talk to him without anyone eavesdropping when they partnered up for lab. But she had this feeling that if she attempted to pry into his private affairs that she would only be told off for her troubles. For all that Atemu was willing to listen to others' problems the former Pharaoh was very protective over his own privacy.

But, as it turned out, he was the one to start the discussion. For, once the practical lab had started, he leaned over and whispered. "Do you have any idea what is bothering Aibou?"

Startled Anzu gazed back at him. "Uh...I don't know. What makes you think something's – ?" Oh no! She had blanked out. Anzu cringed at her oversight in the face of those glorious rubies, forgetting what she had wanted to say. Atemu really was a beautiful person, the type that it was hard to think around when his attention was directed solely at her. Yugi had much the same presence, only it was tempered with a gentle smile – and for some reason that made all the difference in the world.

"Just an intuition." Atemu shrugged, rolling his shoulders in a dispirited manner. "Aibou has been rather...distracted lately. And quiet. I had thought he was sick yesterday, but I am now convinced that there is something else going on. He does not talk to me any more, not like he used to..."

"Oh Atemu." Anzu patted his arm. "I'm sure he doesn't mean to exclude you...but you're right, he has been rather quiet lately...and shy. A lot like he used to be around me...before you came around." There, that was a small hint. Maybe he would take it.

Atemu digested her answer for a moment. And then he sighed, a whimsical smile crossing his features briefly. "Has he said anything to you? Anything at all? I do not wish to pry, but his recent behavior concerns me."

Anzu could have rolled her eyes. Obtuse male. She loved Atemu but sometimes he could be so clueless it wasn't even funny. She almost wondered if it was deliberate, this naiveté when it came to matters of the heart, for in all other areas he was as sharp as a tack.

There were so many days when she wondered how the former spirit managed to keep up the appearance of being just another ordinary teenager making his way through school. His intelligence was through the roof, as evidenced in his high test scores, and he spoke in a much more formal tone than most of her peers, which always set him slightly apart from whatever group he was in. But apparently, beneath that perceptive, inquisitive intellect he was nothing more than a stubborn, naive teen, hoping that someone cared enough to help him with his troubles.

She leaned back in to whisper. "Atemu...I have a question for you. And please don't take it the wrong way. I don't mean to pry, and I don't want you to get mad at me."

He nodded warily, his gaze narrowing. "What is it you wish to ask?"

"I think I know what's wrong with Yugi...I think, mind you, but I want to know this first before I let you in on this." She responded hesitantly. "What do you think of Yugi? As in, maybe more than a friend."

Atemu reared back, a look of complete dread overtaking normally placid his features, reinforcing her beliefs that he was indeed crushing on their smaller friend. He looked like a cornered wildcat as he shook himself out of his shock and puffed up, straightening his posture as he attempted to subdue her with a veiled look. "What are you talking about?"

Gotcha! She only cradled her chin in her hands, the picture of innocence in the face of his outrage. "It was just a question Atemu, before I gave away anything about what's happening with Yugi I wanted to know what you thought of him. But now I want to know what you're hiding, cause you're definitely hiding something. Spill it."

"I...uh..." Caught out, Atemu vaguely resembled a deer in the headlights and Anzu waited patiently for him to realize that there was no way she was letting him out of this one. She examined the cuticles of her nails calmly as she waited for him to come out with it.

But, fortunately for Atemu, the teacher decided to use their table as an example for the rest of the class to follow, and in doing so hovered over them for the rest of the period as they quietly completed their work. By the time Anzu left class Atemu was nowhere to be seen and she was fuming. She had him. She had him, and over such a stupid little question too. He must have been so concerned over Yugi's welfare that he had unknowingly let her lead him into that trap.

Anzu glared death at the students that jostled her around in the crowded hall as she searched out her friends for the next class. She had Yugi in this one, maybe she could get himto admit to his crush. Or at least to listen if she mentioned Atemu's crush on him. Something had to work right? _Right?_

As she peered around the packed hallway she happened to spot her smaller friend having troubles reaching something at the top of his locker, fumbling as he slipped off the edge of the locker and nearly fell. Her heart melted at the sight. No matter how much he had grown up in the past year or so he would always be her game-boy, her Yugi. And she hoped that never changed.

And then her smile morphed into a cunning, wicked grin as she watched Atemu approach Yugi from out of the corner of her eye. She noticed that the former spirit had made a bee-line straight for Yugi's locker, nearly pinning the boy against it as he used his extra inch or so of height to snatch at whatever it was at the top of the locker. It was the perfect chance that she hadn't asked for, but she was not going to waste it wondering who was looking down on them and deciding in her favor. She made tracks for the other side of the hall, her intentions glowing in her eyes.

"Oh hey, Other Me...didn't see you there." Yugi jumped as Atemu came up behind him suddenly, poking him in the side to catch his attention.

Atemu tilted his head to the side, eyeing Yugi intently as the other ducked his head. "What are you trying to do, Aibou? Is there something up there you need?"

"Yeah." Yugi pointed at the top of the locker with a self-depreciating smirk. "I think Jou threw our Lit book up at the top and I can't reach it."

"Allow me." Atemu reached past Yugi, pinning him against the side of the locker with his body as he fumbled for the tiny pamphlet that served as their English Lit book for the end of the semester.

He stretched a little further on his toes, almost leaning against Yugi, their noses only centimeters apart and his other hand came out to brace against the wall beside the locker as he tried to keep his balance while he groped for the book. So close, he could feel the smaller teen's breath against his neck. _Beautiful little Aibou_, he thought. _If only_ –

But then something tumbled into him from behind and sent the two of them crashing the rest of the way into each other. The group of them – unknown person included – fell to a pile on the floor, with Atemu lying in between Yugi's legs, so close that he could feel the pounding of the boy's heart against his ribcage. He looked up, only to drown in the glorious color of amethyst, as his and Yugi's eyes collided. The smaller teen's lips were parted seductively and for a moment Atemu leaned in, unable to help himself._ Just one taste –_

"Oh Anzu! Are you okay? Atemu?" A high pitched voice from across the room startled Atemu back into reality.

With a sheepish blush he glanced back down at Yugi, just barely catching sight of the disappointed look that flitted across his face. Wait...disappointed? He took another peek only to find that Yugi had closed his eyes. Perhaps it was only his wishful thinking. Damn. What was he thinking?

"Are you alright, Aibou?" Atemu asked as he managed to untangle himself from the pliant body beneath him, pulling them both off the floor as he scrutinized the smaller teen's disheveled appearance.

Yugi shook himself out of his daze. "Uh...yeah, I'm good. You?" Was he...did his darkness almost...? He shook his head again to clear the image of Atemu looking as though he was going to kiss him. Nah, there was no way. But, oh, how he wished that he had been right.

A pained groan came from behind the duo and they both glanced over to find Anzu picking herself up off the ground. "Oh! I'm so sorry guys!" She exclaimed, fingering the broken heel of her new shoe. Damn, she hadn't meant for that to happen. "That guy just ran into me!"

"Anzu! Are you okay?" Yugi exclaimed, rushing to her side.

Atemu's eyes narrowed on their friend, but he found no hint of guilt within her sorrowful gaze, so his glare wandered to the evidence she presented. Satisfied there was no malice involved he held a hand out to her. "Are you alright, Anzu?"

She stood with their help and pulled off her remaining shoe. "Yeah...I'm fine. Stupid people and their need to run through the halls." She grouched, but she found no more time to say anything as Miho had somehow managed to cross the hall at break-neck speed in dangerously high stilettos. The blonde skidded to a stop directly in front of the trio of now worse-for-wear teens and proceeded to look Atemu over for injuries.

"Are you okay?" The concerned blonde questioned again, eyeing the three of them, or two of them really – Yugi's presence all but forgotten in her excitement, as he shied away from her wild-eyed look.

"We are fine, Miho, thank you for asking." Atemu gave a snort, turning away to focus on his lighter side.

Yugi had moved away from the group once Miho started giving his darkness the eyes. But his darker half had no intentions of letting him go without checking him over very thoroughly for any sort of injury. He managed to hold still briefly as the larger teen ran a gentle hand over his shoulders and down his sides, watching him intently for any indication of pain.

During the process Yugi's eyes darted to Miho. It was painfully obvious to him that Anzu's friend was becoming impatient with Atemu's inattentiveness and without saying a word he backed away once the other began to relieve his pants of the dirt that they had accumulated, only for Atemu to shoot him a sidelong glance.

"I'm fine...really." He murmured, catching his darkness's hands in his. "Uh...I got to go, see you later." And with that he tore off down the hall.

Atemu watched his smaller copy's slender figure disappear around the corner before his worried gaze cast to the floor and he began to gather the books that had been strewn around the locker in the melee. Why was it everything that he did turned out wrong?

"Atemu? You alright?" Miho asked again, apparently not understanding the handsome teen's distraction. "I was wondering if you – "

Anzu's shoulders slumped as she tuned out the blonde's irritating voice. That so did not work out as she had planned. Maybe she was wrong in thinking that the higher powers were on her side. If only that stupid idiot hadn't run into her just as she had reached them. She had only meant to nudge them into a cozier position, not to knock them both to the floor.

She surmised that she wouldn't get another chance like that. Atemu had already let her know with his earlier look that he suspected her involvement with their mishap. But she had been so close to accomplishing her goal that maybe it was worth risking Atemu's anger to try it again. Yugi's imminent danger always seemed to bring out his darker half's protective instincts. She just didn't want to be on the wrong side of those instincts if something went wrong.

By the time Anzu finally shook herself out of her funk both Atemu and Miho had both disappeared, most likely to their next class, and she was left to sort out her disarrayed clothing and follow with a limp. As she slowly made her way to class she wondered if Atemu had ever actually given an answer to Miho's question, whatever it was that the blonde had asked. She hadn't heard him comment at all.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

By the end of the week both Anzu and Jounouchi were at their wit's end as to how to get their two friends together. Nothing that they came up with had worked out. Jou had attempted to lock the two of them in an upstairs bathroom – only to have his prank cut short by a passing janitor. Anzu had caused numerous mishaps while in their company, only to gain Atemu's ire at her sudden clumsiness, and, for some reason, Yugi seemed to grow quieter and quieter with each attempt they made. It was a discouraging endeavor, that was for sure.

And Miho was only making things worse. Anzu could have sworn that the blonde knew what they were attempting to do and was out to foil their plans with a flair that only she was capable of.

Out of the corner of her eye Anzu watched Yugi as he worked diligently on his history assignment. The petite teen looked so fragile right now, as though he would break if someone so much as breathed on him, and she wondered at the gravity of his thoughts. After a few moments of quietly watching him gnaw at his bottom lip she got up from her desk and crossed the room. Thankfully this was their study period and quiet talking was allowed in the library. There would be no trouble in her asking after him.

"What are you thinking about?" She questioned quietly as she sat down on one of the vacant seats next to Yugi. She reached out to smooth a wayward piece of hair out of his face, only to have him flinch awkwardly at her actions. He had never done that before. Flustered, she drew her hand back. "Yugi...are you okay?"

Yugi sat back in his seat, eyeing Anzu intently. He wanted so badly to share his secret with somebody. Anybody who would listen. Apparently keeping this secret to himself was causing such a distraction that he wasn't even able to walk a straight line anymore without someone having to hold his hand. He hated being coddled and made to feel like a child who couldn't do anything without a guiding hand. But more often than not, of late, he wasthat uncoordinated child.

He couldn't do anything right lately. Not just at school, which was where most of the incidents occurred, but at home as well. Last night he had broken yet another dish, and this time managed to cut his hand on one of the shards, which sent Atemu into a fit of over-protectiveness, and his grandfather into a bout of concern over his health. He would be lucky if, between the two of them, they didn't wrap him up in bubble-wrap and cart him off to a padded room before the weekend was over.

He wanted his other half to see him as a mature – if not cool and collected – individual. Someone whom the gorgeous teen was capable of falling for. But so far all he had done lately is reinforce the former spirit's notion that he was unable to care for himself. God, this past week sucked! Somehow he had managed to get them both locked in a bathroom, tripped over air so many times he lost count – a couple of times even causing Atemu to fall with him – and broken no less than four objects that were of questionable fragility. What was he doing wrong?

Anzu watched as Yugi opened his mouth a couple of times to say something, but in the end the smaller teen closed up tighter than a clam, finally heaving a sigh as he pinned her with a solemn gaze. He looked heartbroken. What was he so anxious about? Did she really screw up that badly? "Yugi...?"

"I..." He glanced around uncertainly, before whispering. "Anzu...you can't say anything to anyone, please. Promise me that, would you?"

"Sure Yugi, I promise." She assured him as she leaned in to hear what he had to say. "What's wrong?"

Yugi folded his arms across the desk, laying his head on them to whisper. "I can't keep this any longer...its affecting my...oh man, I'm such a klutz right now...I just can't concentrate when he's around! I can't walk, or talk apparently...I'm such an idiot! Why can't I do anything right when he's around me?"

Settling in closer to listen Anzu leaned her head on her arm over the side of the chair. "Who Yugi? Is it Atemu?"

For a moment Yugi stared at her, slack-jawed, and then he buried his head in his arms and Anzu just barely made out his affirmative answer. Hesitating for a moment she finally reached out to lay a gentle hand on his arm, drawing him out of his protective shell. "Oh Yugi, I'm so sorry. I haven't been much of a help have I?"

That caught his attention, his head came up, amethyst eyes pinning her in her seat with a questioning look. "Huh? What are you talking about, Anzu?"

Anzu plucked at the fuzz on the side of the chair, feeling extremely guilty. Her smaller friend had no idea that she and Jou had been trying to help get him together with his crush. It nearly broke her heart to think that he had been berating himself over mistakes that she and Jou had made. And, as she stared back into vulnerable amethyst eyes, she came to the realization that that was exactly what he had been doing.

"Oh Yugi...I'm sorry...I've been trying to find ways to put you guys in a position where you would have no choice but to acknowledge your feelings for each other. And yet somehow, every time I think I have it right something comes along and ruins it." She murmured, shamefaced. "Jou's been trying to help too...we're just...I guess we suck at it. Sorry."

"It was you guys...?" Yugi gave an anguished look before turning his eyes away. "But I thought it was..." He trailed off into silence, staring out the window, his thoughts miles away.

"Yugi?" She prodded after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Oh god Anzu..." Yugi blushed bright red, dropping his face into his hands. "All this time I thought it was me...I mean...oh man, last night was so bad..."

Anzu set a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What happened?" When he clammed up again, preferring to bury his glowing face in his hands she coaxed him gently. "Come on Yugi, sometimes it helps to talk about it. You can't keep it bottled up forever."

Finally, after a moment's consideration Yugi turned to face the wall, hiding his head with the palm of his hand, and he began to whisper softly so as not to attract the attention of any of the other students in the library. "I've been such a klutz lately, Anzu. You know this...apparently...and its been getting worse. But last night...last night...after nearly tripping down the stairs...I wanted something to eat...I-I had it in my hand but I sneezed...and I dropped one of Grandpa's plates...second one this week...and when I went to pick it up..."

He held up his bandaged hand for her inspection, which she had seen earlier, but not commented on since she knew how he got about her tendency to mother him. "I sliced myself open pretty good. Grandpa wanted me to get stitches...yeah, I don't think so..."

"Oh Yugi!" Anzu commiserated with her friend's misfortune. Part of this was her fault, and she knew it. Yugi had never had the greatest opinion of himself and her haphazard plans only seemed to reinforce it. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy. She hung her head in shame. "I'm so sorry, Yugi. I never meant for that to happen. I should have thought...about how this would affect you..."

He glanced up at her in shock. "No!" And then he lowered his voice. "No. It's not your fault...my own stupidity...again. You don't even want to know what I did to get out of that one...but that's not the worst part!" His face flushed as he admitted the last part.

She leaned in, listening intently. "Go on...what happened?"

Yugi lowered his gaze, fidgeting with his bandaged hand, embarrassed to the core. "Well...Atemu already thinks I'm coming down with something...I sneezed again while they were trying to clean up the mess I made...a-and Grandpa...oh man...he chased me around the house with that nasty cough syrup...that stuff that smells like decomposing corpse – and tastes even worse! That...that _stuff_ is disgusting!" He made a face, showing exactly what he thought of his grandfather's favorite cure-all.

Anzu couldn't help it, she burst out laughing when he confided his disaster of the night before. Just the sight of him wrinkling his nose up like a rabbit almost had her in tears. "Oh Yugi...s-sorry...i-it's just...oh! Are you okay?"

Yugi shot her a mock glare, sinking lower into his seat in mortification, arms folded over his chest. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up...hahaha."

"S-sorry, sorry..." She wiped the tears away from her face. "Oh man...sounds like you had one of those nights!"

Yugi nodded, nibbling on his bottom lip, his gaze unfocused as he stared out the window. "Yeah...and what's worse is the Other...Atemu...I just can't believe he was the one who held me down so that Grandpa could make me take it! And...he kept trying to take my temperature, so I spent a good part of the night chewing on a thermometer, ugh...and when it kept reading normal he'd get all irritated and want to try again..." His voice lowered. "Neither one of them trusts me to walk out the door without an escort...it's humiliating...I'm so glad that stuff makes you pass out or I'd have...I don't know...he pissed me off last night!"

"Hey...Yugi, look at me." She commanded gently, tipping his face up to meet with hers, realizing how frustrated her smaller friend was by his agitated tone. "I'm sorry that we added to your troubles...I really, really am. That wasn't what I was aiming for. And there's nothing wrong with you – other than the fact that you're in the middle of a growth spurt. Which I'm surprised that no one's noticed yet, cause I can tell just from the way you keep tugging on your clothes."

"Huh?" He blinked at her, definitely not expecting that answer.

Shaking her head Anzu gave him a wide smile. "You mean you haven't noticed either?"

He shrugged offhandedly, his mood still foul. "Uh...just that my clothes are a little tight. I thought it had something to do with Grandpa changing detergent..."

Anzu let loose with a giggle. "No silly, even Jou remarked on it the other day, how much you've grown." Her eyes widened as a plan came to her. This would be so much easier to accomplish now that Yugi understood her intentions. To hell with Atemu, he'd just have to wait and watch. She giggled inwardly as she imagined the stoic former Pharaoh's reaction to their plans. "Hey Yugi, I want you to come shopping with me. You, me and Jou. Tonight. I'll explain then."

"Are you going to knock me down the escalator, toss me over the balcony...run me over with a shopping cart?" He gave her a suspicious look. "Not that I need any help with that lately...but are you?"

Grinning back at her oldest friend Anzu gave a playful roll of her eyes. "No silly, we're going to help you catch a Pharaoh...or former Pharaoh anyways. If you still want him after last night..."

Yugi's face lit up in a fiery blush and he almost gagged on his surprise. "W-what do you mean?"

"Oh Yugi, can't you see that he's in love with you?" She questioned. At his dubious look she sighed. "Its so obvious...Even I can tell he loves you. I don't think he'd do half of the stuff he's doing if he didn't. He's just worried and being his over-protective self. I don't think he knows any other way to act. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Ah...yeah...about that..." Yugi grimaced, not sure if he dared hope that his friend was right. The heart-break would be too much if she was wrong. "I don't know...he's...All I can say is the Other Me and I aren't exactly talking right now...not after last night. And what about Miho? Isn't she sweet on him too?"

"Oh please." Anzu gave a light glare. "He's not even remotely interested in her. Don't you worry about Miho, Yugi. Atemu belongs to you. He always has."

With that miscommunication behind them the two friends spent the latter part of the hour planning their trip to the mall. The idea was to draw Atemu's interest by enhancing Yugi's wardrobe, and hopefully along with it his self-confidence. At some point and time during the conversation Yugi accused her of being girly, and she retaliated by accusing him of being an emo pretty-boy. To which they both burst out into laughter that had nearly gotten them expelled from the library for being obnoxious. Shortly after that the smaller teen began to lose some of his tenseness, the two teens settling back into the typical style of banter that had, at one time, come so naturally to them.

After the last class Anzu walked Yugi to his locker, hanging out, leaned against the wall to watch as he shoved his books quickly into his backpack, not wanting to risk running into Atemu while he was still upset with him. But no sooner than he had finished stuffing the last of his weekend work into his pack, and the one person he least wanted to see came right up behind them. Anzu backed away when her smaller friend began to tense up, sensing that this was not something she wanted to be in the middle of.

"Aibou...?" Atemu cleared his throat uncomfortably, knowing that there was more than the slightest chance that his little one was still irritated at him for his arrogant stunt the night before.

Yugi jumped at the sound of his name, turning to lean up against his locker, well out of the other's reach, his over-filled pack clutched protectively over his chest. "Yeah, Atemu? What do you need?"

The smaller of the two watched as his darker half visibly flinched at the sound of his name. The former Pharaoh looked the very picture of guilt with his eyes downcast, his books clasped tightly in front of his chest as though they would shield him from his lighter half's anger. Yugi felt bad for being so upset with the darker teen. But he was angry. Very angry.

"I...ah, I am sorry, Aibou." Atemu's shoulders slumped, his defeated posture tugging at Yugi's heartstrings. "I was worried about...but, ah, I had no right to act as I did last night."

"I...I..." Yugi dropped his gaze, unable to think of any way to get out of the position that his other half had put him in with that sincere apology. He had been working the entire day to finally get up enough nerve to take his darkness to task for his control issues. Finally, seeing no other recourse, he heaved a sigh, shrugging halfheartedly. "It's okay...whatever, Other Me..."

Atemu's startled gaze shot to his and he took a step forward, cupping Yugi's face gently in his hand. He searched his smaller duplicate's wide-eyed expression momentarily before brushing the hair out of his eyes. "It is only an apology, Aibou...my admission of the wrong that I have done you. You do not have to accept it yet if you are still upset with me."

Yugi blinked questioningly at his other half. And after a couple of minutes he finally spoke. "I see..do you...uh...mind if I stay angry with you for a little longer, Other Me? That was a truly rotten trick you pulled last night...I'm not a child...I don't appreciate being treated like one."

Atemu nodded, cringing, as he recalled his high-handed conduct of the night before. He was truly lucky that his partner was even speaking to him right now – even if it was just to tell him of his anger. "I understand, Aibou. I shall leave you be for the moment. I just wanted to apologize..."

Before the former Pharaoh could step away Yugi drew him into a tight embrace, laying his head on his shoulder apologetically. He couldn't stay angry with his other half, no matter what he did. But it wouldn't hurt for Atemu to think that he could. "If you could tell Grandpa that I'm going to be a little late tonight I'd appreciate it."

Wrapping his arms around the slender body of his other half, Atemu gave off a serene grin the likes that only Yugi was ever able to coax from him. "I would gladly do this for you, Aibou. Is it anything that you need me for?"

Yugi pulled away, shaking his head. "N-no...I'm good. Just going to hang out with Anzu and Jou for a while tonight."

"Just try not to make it too late without calling to let him know where you are." Atemu warned, tapping him on the nose, and reveling in the blush that it brought to his other's beautiful features. "Your grandfather will be after both of our hides."

"I won't..." Yugi grinned, playfully poking the former Pharaoh in the ribs. "And thank you...for understanding..."

At that moment, fearing that they would have an unwanted tag-along, Anzu snatched Yugi's arm and started to drag him away, her own face burning with newly imagined fantasies of the two of them together. "Don't worry Atemu, we won't keep him too long. We'll see you later." Than she turned to Yugi. "Come on, Game-boy, lets go find Jou before he hitches a ride with Seto."

Please review?


	3. Chapter 3

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Several hours, and many outfits later, Yugi walked out of the dressing room in a pair of hip hugging black jeans that clung to his every curve, flaring out at the bottom, a tight, blood red under-armor shirt hugging his chest. "Well, what do you think?" He asked as he appraised his form in the three-way mirror.

Jou put his finger to his lips, eyeing his smaller friend closely. "Turn around Yug...I want to see what this outfit does for you."

"O-kay..." Yugi raised an eyebrow, but he began to spin as requested, hoping that he could escape back to the dressing room before too long. This outfit, as sexy as it made him feel, was so much more his darkness's style than his. He preferred slightly looser clothing than what he was currently wearing. The low-waisted jeans felt like they were creeping up in places that he'd rather they not, and the shirt refused to meet with the waistband of the pants, leaving a wide gap of pale skin – which he was wholly unaccustomed to showing.

"Stop right there." Jou commanded, just as Anzu came in from the floor, holding yet another outfit for Yugi to try on. He turned to Anzu with a grin. "Whaddya think?"

Anzu gave Yugi a critical once over, noting the way that the jeans seemed to hug his slender backside like a second skin. She could feel her face heat up as Jou waited patiently for her answer. Her little Yugi was turning into a total heartthrob, with the sexiest figure she had ever seen on a guy. "I think they're perfect." And unable to help herself she blurted out. "You've really got the cutest butt, Yugi..." Then she turned to Jou with a mortified look. "Oh god...I did not just say that?"

"Anzu!" Yugi spun around, eyes wide, his hands covering his backside as his face burned at his oldest friend's unexpected comment.

"Oh yeah, you so did, Anzu." Jou gave a mirthful snicker, as Anzu tossed another pair of jeans – these ones in a brilliant shade of white – at Yugi's chest before burying her flushed face in her hands. Jou continued laughing at her plight. "Yeah, I think so too. Yug, you wear these around Atemu and the only thing he's going to be thinking of is how much he wants to be buried inside that tight little ass..."

Yugi had buried his over-heated face in the pair of jeans that Anzu had just supplied him with as he wailed. "Jou! Oh god...you just had to...I wasn't even thinking...please...don't go there!"

Oh my god? Did they both just...Were his friends checking out his ass? Yugi could feel the urge to let loose with a hysterical laugh just bubbling over. He pressed his face tighter against the jeans, afraid that if they saw his face right now they would only tease him for his innocence. He was almost in tears he was laughing so hard. Why did he get the feeling that they both figured him for the submissive partner? Life wasn't fair, he decided abruptly.

But his blonde friend only gave a hearty laugh. "Yugi, get your face out of those pants! You never know if someone's already tried 'em on and farted in 'em"

Astonished Yugi dropped the jeans that he had been holding, just as Anzu let loose with an outraged screech. "Jounouchi!"

And then the three of them fell out, Anzu clutching her stomach as Yugi and Jou collapsed against the wall, their laughter bouncing around the empty room and echoing back at them. It felt so good just to let loose like that, kind of like things had been before all the complications. After a few moments they stood there, catching their breath, just grinning wildly at each other as they allowed their racing hearts to calm.

Finally Anzu cleared her throat. "Come on, let's get out of here and get some food. And you are so wearing that outfit Yugi." She grabbed a hold of their hands, after snatching up Yugi's school clothes and a couple of other outfits that they had already agreed on, and dragged them away from the discarded piles of clothing. "We'll just pay for it on the way out."

After making their purchases, and a stop off at the restrooms to take the tags off of Yugi's newest outfit, the group found themselves at the food court. Anzu and Jou were eyeing each other with glee as they noticed the looks their smaller friend was gathering from the people they passed. They each picked out their snacks and ventured to a random table well away from the crowds of people milling around the court. Jou ripped into a bag of chips with his teeth and immediately popped one in his mouth, crunching loudly.

Anzu carefully laid out her plastic-ware, taking her time as she glanced at Yugi from beneath a fringe of dark hair. She had not missed the ecstatic look that had crossed his face when they had told him how good he looked. Maybe that was where she and Jou had gone wrong before. They had been unknowingly tearing down his confidence, when he actually needed to be built up. Yugi had never been the most self-assured person, always a little – or a lot – on the shy, quiet side.

She snuck another glance as Yugi took a mouthful of burger. Perhaps she should tell him of her feelings, not to make him feel guilty for being unable to return them, but because he needed that little extra boost. Hesitating, she took a bite of her Caesar salad, thinking this new plan over. Her smaller friend still had a soft blush adorning his features, it had never truly left after their announcement from earlier. She toyed with the idea a little longer, debating on whether or not it would cause him a guilt trip.

Finally she cleared her throat and looked up, catching both boys' attention. "Hey Yugi...I've got something to say...but I don't want you to take this the wrong way..."

Yugi set down his half-eaten burger, curious amethyst eyes locked with hers. "Sure, what's up, Anzu?"

Even Jou had left his meal, with the exception of stealing a chip every now and then. Anzu stared at them both for a moment, gathering her nerve. "Well...you know how we've been friends for...like...ever?" At their nods, she continued. "Well...I...I just want to get this out in the open...I think you need to know...I've had the biggest crush on you, Yugi...you and Atemu...I always have."

Yugi opened his mouth to comment, the blush glowing from the tips of his ears and disappearing into the choker around his neck. But she grabbed his hand, squeezing lightly as she held a fingertip to his lips. "No...don't, Yugi...I know who you're in love with...and I agree...Atemu's downright gorgeous...I just thought that you needed to know that you are too..."

The smaller teen sat back in his chair, a mystified look overriding the blush on his face. "Are you...? Really? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Why don't you tell Atemu?" Anzu gave him a pointed look.

Yugi nodded quickly. "Good point. But – "

"Stop, Yugi...and don't you dare guilt trip over this." She smiled gently. "I think the two of you are going to make the greatest couple. You're both so sexy...and sweet...and you've been such good friends to me...I want to help. Yugi...no matter what you believe Atemu does love you. If only you could see the looks he throws your way when he thinks you're not looking...you guys are going to be so good together."

Yugi's eyes narrowed and he gave her a glance that was worthy of his darker half. "Uh...Anzu...does this...uh...need to help us...have anything to do with that doujinshi that you always carry around in your notebook?"

Jou, who had been silently watching the exchange until that point, burst out into raucous laughter, drawing looks from some of the other patrons. "Oh hell, that's rich, Yug! Betcha didn't know that he knew that, huh Anzu?"

"Oh quiet you!" Anzu's face felt like it had burst into flames, she couldn't even look at her friends right now. "Let me guess...Atemu knows about it too?"

Yugi sat back in his chair again. "I think he's known longer than I have...Anzu, I know what you're doing...and I appreciate it, I do, but you don't need to lie to me to make me feel better about myself."

She nearly jumped from her chair at that conclusion. "Oh no you don't Yugi Mutou...you are not getting out of this one." She came to kneel before his seat, touching his hand softly. "You are such a beautiful person...but you don't think very highly of yourself...I always thought that if I were to tell you...that you would go out with me just to please me – and I didn't want that. God Yugi, if you only had even the slightest clue of how sexy you are...and you really do have the cutest butt I've ever seen..."

"Anzu..." Yugi flushed again, completely embarrassed. He could see from the look in her eyes that she was being completely truthful with him. And at one time he might have gone for it, might have asked her out. But his eyes were only for his darkness. He loved Atemu more than life itself. Did he really have a chance?

"Anzu...I..." He began again, only to have her put a fingertip to his lips.

"Yugi, I love you guys with all my heart...as long as you are happy, I'll be happy, okay?" She gave another heartfelt smile. "And I won't try and steal your first kiss or anything like that."

Both Yugi and Jou laughed out loud at that, before Yugi turned to her with a grateful grin. "It wouldn't be my first kiss, Anzu...that was Sakura in fifth grade..." And feeling a little bold with this new information swimming around his head, Yugi leaned in and brushed his lips across hers, feeling her twitch in his embrace. It felt so good to know that someone somewhere thought that he was worth loving. "Thank you, Anzu..."

She flushed violently, giving a quick peck to his lips in parting. "You're welcome...you will always be my Game-boy...no matter what, right?"

"Yeah...always..." He returned with a bright smile.

"Awww..." Jou cooed, breaking up the tender moment to watch them both turn bright red. "So...what's this about doujinshi, Anzu? You've been holding out, why?"

"Oh man, don't even go there, Jounouchi." Anzu wagged a finger in his face, returning to her uneaten salad as she kept an eye on Yugi's glowing face. Her intuition had been correct. Yugi needed to know of her crush. She could see a new confidence fairly glowing in his eyes, making them even brighter than before. This would not be an overnight change by any means, but at least her confession might give him just the smallest boost, and that would, in turn, lead to more positive thinking in terms of his own attractiveness.

"O-kay...now I have a question for the both of you..." Yugi ducked his head. "Uh...am I correct in thinking that you guys see me as the girl in this relationship...?"

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

"Atemu..." Yugi stated, his wide-eyed gaze switching uncomfortably from Jou's eager face to Anzu's cunning grin. "Are you guys sure about this? I mean he's so...and I'm just – "

"Don't you start with that, Yugi." Anzu waved a knowing finger in front of his face, the grin becoming even wider as they made their way up to the game shop door.

Maybe it was better that Yugi'd had an attack of nerves the night before, and ended up calling his grandfather for permission to stay the night at her house. This way he could face his darker half with a fresh day ahead of him. They'd stayed up nearly the entire night, working with the normally quiet teen on how to project a self-assured image to those around him. Now it was time for Yugi to realize that what they had said the night before was the truth. It was time for him to see for himself just how deeply his other half cared for him.

They made it as far as the steps and Yugi turned back around, his eyes frantic. "I-I don't know if I'm ready for this...what if we're wrong?"

Jou pulled his skeptical friend into a warm embrace. "We're not wrong, Yugi. You just need to believe in yourself a little more. Come on man, you can do it. We know ya can."

"Yeah, and Atemu's not going to know what hit him if you just waltz in there and show him who you really are." Anzu nodded along with her blonde friend, squeezing Yugi's arm affectionately. "You can do it, Yugi. Just watch him for a little while if you're not sure...you'll see what we're talking about."

Yugi nodded, pulling away. "Yeah, you're right...I can just watch for a while. Oh man...I'm shaking like a leaf." He held up unsteady hands, only for his eye to be drawn to the bandage covering his left hand. There would be no more of that. He was better than that. A determined look fell over his features and he glanced at his best friends. "Thank you, guys. I can manage from here."

"'atta boy Yug...go get 'im." Jou cheered as he and Anzu backed down the steps, making for the sidewalk. "Gimme a call and let me know how it goes...unless it goes a little too well and then I don't want to hear from ya until it's over..."

"Jou!" Both Anzu and Yugi yelled in unison, their faces colored in various shades of red as they stared at their outspoken friend.

The grinning blonde only gave a hearty laugh at their reactions. "Yeah, yeah, I know...my bad...anyways, get on in there and show 'em whatcha got, Yugi. We'll talk at ya later."

Taking a deep breath Yugi turned and entered the store after waving one last time to the others. This was it. It was time for him to man up, to show his darker half what he was missing out on. Silence greeted him from the game shop, making him aware of how early it really was. He smothered a yawn with his hand, knowing that he would be unable to stay up for much longer. It was unbelievable that he had managed to stay up for an entire night, even more so that he was up and around this early in the morning after doing just that. But before he went to bed he wanted to see what his darkness's reaction would be to the clothes that he had bought.

He let himself into the house, dropping his overloaded bags to the floor in relief as he glanced around the stillness of the room. Everyone was still asleep. Bummer. Oh well, he thought with not the smallest amount of relief, he would just have to wait for a chance to see Atemu's reaction. After toeing his shoes off he tiptoed through the house, intent on making it to his bed for some well deserved rest. As he ascended the stairs a door creaked from somewhere above him and quiet footsteps were heard, sending a nervous jolt of adrenaline through his system.

Once on the second floor he peered around guiltily, swallowing his heart – which had suddenly leapt into his throat. He had, after all, left his other half to his own devices for the night, and that was after Atemu had apologized to him. It was the first night they had spent completely apart from each other. The remorse practically flooded over his exhausted mind, leading him to wonder what his darker half's reaction to their separation would be. He hoped that the former spirit was not too irritated with him.

"Aibou?"

Atemu's husky, sleep-filled voice sounded from behind him and he jumped, spinning around to stare at his near duplicate, the words sticking in his throat. His other half was gorgeous even fresh out of bed, with tousled hair that fell into his eyes, his erotic, rumpled look leading to questions of just how he had ended up so disheveled. In the silence Yugi watched his other take second, longer look at what he was wearing, wide scarlet eyes bringing to mind that of an innocent child on Christmas morning. Why hadn't he noticed _that _before?

"Aibou...what are you – " Atemu had lost his concentration the moment he gazed upon his little one's slender, tightly clad form, his eyes widening to the point of nearly popping out of his head. Oh holy hell. The boy looked as though he had painted his clothes on, the way they hugged his petite figure from neck to knee. And he had thought Yugi was beautiful before? That was obviously an understatement. His jaw dropped and he stared, unable to pull his eyes away from the delectable sight.

And Yugi saw it all. Summoning his courage the smaller teen made his way over to his darker half, praying that he was not making a mistake. He gently tipped Atemu's mouth shut with a smirk. "Careful, you'll catch flies like that."

And then he sauntered away with a confident step – shaking the whole way as he felt the other's intense gaze on his backside. A blush crept up his face at the thought of his dark half checking him out in that way, but thankfully he made it to his room before he did anything to muck up his act. Only once he shut the door securely behind him did he let out the breath that he had been holding for the entire time.

Atemu shook his head. He could only watch as his smaller double sauntered away with a sultry shake of his hips, his eyes glued to Yugi's slender bottom, his heart pounding double time in his chest. Oh hell no! Did he just...was Yugi flirting? And those clothes...Oh gods...He shook his head again to clear the thought. It wasn't possible. That did not just happen. He was sleepwalking...or something. After taking a few moments to convince himself that he had seen nothing out of the ordinary the confused ex-Pharaoh made his way to the bathroom. But the persistent notion of Yugi's flirting wouldn't leave his mind.

As he padded softly back to his room the door across the hall creaked open and Yugi's heart-shaped face peered out at him, looking so much more like the adorable child that he had first met, in his baggy pajamas, rather than the gorgeous young man that he had come to love so deeply. "Other Me...I can't sleep...could you..." He trailed off uncertainly.

A warm smile overtook his features and Atemu questioned. "Would you like me to stay with you for a while?"

"Would you mind? I've just got so much going on right now..." Yugi worried at his bottom lip as he gave a pleading glance back at his darker half. So many fears and doubts were waging war within his mind right now, and he was certain he wouldn't be able to rest even after being up all night long, if he couldn't settle them down. If this plan of theirs failed then he would lose the one person whom he trusted more than anyone else on this earth. He couldn't face that thought. Not alone. The idea that this might be the last time he and his darker half were ever this close weighed heavily on his heart.

Atemu gave a regal nod, making his way over to where the smaller teen held the door, to take his face in his hand, their eyes meeting, warm scarlet with confused amethyst. "You know that I would do anything for you, right, Aibou? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, I know, Other Me...I just...I need to work it out first, okay?" Yugi replied, letting the other into his room.

Atemu flicked the end of his nose, grinning when he scrunched up like a rabbit. "Alright, I understand...just don't forget about me."

"Never." Yugi grinned, feeling a little more light-hearted about the situation in the wake of his darker half's teasing.

The two of them crawled into the bed, Atemu pulling his younger counterpart up against him. This just felt so right to him, this closeness between them. So right. Yugi snuggled up even closer, sighing as he closed his eyes. The former spirit gave a satisfied sigh and burrowed down under the covers. What he wouldn't give for this to be a nightly occurrence. He missed this so very much. Without a second thought the former spirit's eyes closed, his breathing evening out, to join his partner in dreamland.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Atemu could have sworn he only closed his eyes for a moment when something jolted him into instant awareness. His breath hitched in his throat as he took in his surroundings. A maze of darkened halls and massive doors greeted his vision, the endlessness of the encroaching darkness taking his breath away. Was he...was he back in the puzzle? He glanced around at the familiar halls, his heart skipping beats in his chest. Why was he here? Was this a dream? Or...had he dreamed his release from the persecution of the millennium items? Oh gods...was this real?

The former Pharaoh dropped to his knees, his gaze watchful, frightened as he contemplated the hopeless thought. And then he heard something in the dimness of the hall. Soft steps, light, almost soundless in the oppression, and Atemu's eyes traced their progress through the eerie darkness, wondering if he should stay or flee.

"Other me...?" A familiar voice called softly.

Atemu let out the breath he had been holding. "Aibou." Perhaps he had been dreaming that he had his own life? Dreaming that he had been able to gaze upon his smaller partner with his own eyes. The tears stung and he carelessly wiped them away, as the footsteps quickened, his other's petite form becoming steadily visible through the gloom. And then Atemu's breath caught again, his jaw dropping as the other's form was finally revealed. This was not the young boy that he had come into the care of? Wait...what was this?

This nearly grown up version of Yugi gave a mischievous grin, folding his arms over his chest. "Shame on you! I've been looking everywhere for you! Where have you been hiding?"

"I've been here the entire time, Aibou. Perhaps you should have looked in the obvious places before running around by yourself. You know how dangerous it is in here." Atemu replied, his voice quavering just the slightest even as he fell back into their normal routine, as though his four months of true life had been nothing but a wish.

By the time that Yugi stood in front of him Atemu had managed to regain most of his composure, and he was grinning at his smaller counterpart. Even if his dream of having his own life had been nothing but a dream...at least he had his little one. Well, sort of. From the looks of things Yugi was nearly as tall as he was, looking much like the boy whom he had wrapped up in his embrace earlier in his dream, the petite teen's slender form shown off to perfection in these new clothes. Atemu's eyes narrowed. That outfit...wait, where had he seen that before?

Before Atemu could form a coherent thought concerning his partner's form-fitting clothing Yugi reached up and drew him into a searing kiss, nearly giving him a heart-attack. His first inclination was to fight, but that was soon overpowered by the intensity of the emotions that flooded into his brain. Yugi was...Yugi was...kissing him? And then he melted into the kiss, unable to help himself. Oh gods his Aibou was so good at this. His arms came up to wrap around the slight figure that was holding him so tightly, and he gasped as a wayward hand came up to caress his backside, not expecting such a gesture from his innocent little light.

After thoroughly molesting his darker half through his clothes Yugi broke the kiss, and it was at that time Atemu realized that he was dreaming. He had to be – for the younger teen gave a playfully evil grin, snapping his fingers, and suddenly the former Pharaoh found himself tied down to a bed that he couldn't recall ever seeing in his soul room before. Scarlet eyes widened and Atemu looked back at his smaller partner in surprise.

"Aibou...what – " He started to protest, only to be cut off as Yugi climbed up on the bed, settling down beside him.

"You've been a naughty boy, Other Me..." Yugi smirked as he trailed a finger down Atemu's chest. "We were supposed to trade places before I got up on stage to make that speech...but you just had to make yourself scarce...you know what that means, don't you?"

Atemu couldn't help the shiver that ran the length of his spine at his smaller partner's words and the actions that accompanied them. He had to be dreaming, not just for the simple fact that Yugi had kissed him...well, yeah, that too, but more so that the little one was taking complete charge of their encounter. And as peculiar as it was for him to be on the receiving end of his Aibou's sudden dominance it seemed to fill a void within him that he had long since thought to remain unfulfilled.

Throughout his entire life – and afterlife – people had always seen him as the protector. A knight in shining armor who would ride to their rescue and brave any difficulty, any obstacle in order to save the day. And yes, he tried so hard to live up to this sterling image. But when the shadows fell, and he was the only one around, only then would he dream of someone who could rescue him, someone who could assure him that it would be alright, that they loved him for himself, not the image he presented to the world.

What he wanted, more than anything in the world, was for someone to protect him, to care for him. It was his one dream that would most likely never be realized. He had always sensed this ability in his smaller partner, someone who would stand on equal footing with him, but – with the exception of this rather vivid dream – he doubted that he would be the recipient of that caring. With a sinking heart Atemu gave himself over to the knowledge that he was only dreaming. And then he decided to see where this dream would take him.

Swallowing thickly he asked. "What does it mean, Aibou...?" His imagination running rampant with all the different possibilities that those words could mean.

The dream Yugi gave a light chuckle. "It means that you belong to me now and I can do anything I want..." Slender hands skirted his sides lightly, the grin on his younger partner's face becoming slightly more sadistic. "And I've decided to take my revenge by...tickling you!"

Atemu howled, squirming away from those invading digits. To counter his darkness's ability to maneuver out of his way, the dream Yugi straddled his taller partner's hips, causing a sharp intake of breath from the duplicate below him, before attacking again. Eventually Atemu cried out out, re-evaluating his opinion of this encounter being merely a dream. It was entirely too real to be only that – well, with the exception of that kiss. "Enough...I surrender!"

Yugi only smirked at him, situating himself firmly atop Atemu's lap. "That's what I thought...you're not so tough, Other Me...in fact...I'm willing to bet you're nothing but a big ole softy beneath that _don't fuck with me _attitude. You just don't want anyone to know what I know about you..."

Atemu bit back a moan as the smaller teen wriggled around on top of him, praying for the other not to notice his sudden problem. Dream or not – and at the moment he wasn't quite certain which reality was the true one – he didn't want Yugi to think any less of him. "And what would that be, little one?" He gasped.

"You can't fool me, Other Me...I know your thoughts." Yugi leaned in to whisper, taking a delicate nip at his ear as he did so. "I know you want to be held down...to submit to another's will...for someone else to take the decision out of your hands..."

"What?" Atemu moved so suddenly he nearly dislodged his smaller partner from his perch, but his movement was limited by the shackles that held him to the bed. "Wherever did you get that idea, Aibou?"

Yugi merely eyed him with a sadistic gleam. "As I said...you can't hide your thoughts from me...and I intend to do something about this delightful little fetish."

As he was speaking the smaller teen moved lower so that he was now straddling the former Pharaoh's thighs, his hands caressing the expanse of his chest. Atemu's breath quickened as those fingers that had only moments ago tormented him into surrender now teased their way down his stomach, the look in his partner's amethyst eyes all but daring him to refute the evidence that was within his easy reach.

"Nah...ah...Yugi, Aibou..." Atemu's coherent thought ceased the moment those talented digits came into contact with his twitching hardness. The sounds of a zipper being loosened filled the room and suddenly he was free of the constricting clothing. "Yugi...you don't...have..."

A single slender finger to the lips shushed him effectively as the boy perched so prettily above him whispered. "But I want to...now hush my darkness..."

And Atemu's thoughts turned into an incoherent scream as a blinding-white heat engulfed his length. Startled, the former spirit bolted up right, the last echo of his scream dying away as his partner's wide-eyed form stared at him from beside him on the bed where they had both, not moments before, fallen asleep in each other's arms. Atemu didn't even have to look down to notice the evidence of his sleep induced escapades, he could feel it drying on his legs. Slowly he closed his eyes, willing his heartbeat back to normal as Yugi put a hand to his forehead.

"Are you okay, Other Me?" He asked quietly, curious as to why his darkness had woken with such a cry. This wasn't like Atemu at all. "Was it a nightmare?"

Freaked out and thoroughly ashamed of his body's reaction to such a vivid dream Atemu dodged the persistent hand, bolting from the bed with a quickness. "It was nothing, Aibou...just a dream...I have to go to...I have to go..." And then he fled the room, with Yugi's curious eyes following him the whole way.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Please review?


	4. Chapter 4

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

"Oh man...did you see Atemu today?" Jou nearly fell off the couch that he had taken over since arriving at Anzu's house moments ago. "I swear, jealous much?"

Anzu gave an answering laugh as she finished placing the last plate of cookies out on the table, cautioning the blonde not to go overboard and eat them all before the others' arrival. Her parents had given her the go-ahead to host a small Christmas get together for her closest friends while they were out of town. She felt bad, abusing their trust like this, but it was for a good cause. Apparently they needed some help with getting the former Pharaoh and his lighter half together before the Christmas season was through. And so, she had called in Ryou and Bakura, along with Malik and Marik – knowing full well that her parents did not approve of the two darker halves of her friends for all the commotion that they had caused in their short school career.

"Yeah, he was...rather obvious today, wasn't he." She giggled again. "And so adorably klutzy on top of it. I swear he walked into the same wall twice today!"

Oh, the former Pharaoh was so deliciously obvious that it hurt her to watch. Apparently, after avoiding Yugi for the largest part of the weekend, Atemu had come to school in the surliest mood possible, giving anyone and everyone who dared take a second glance at his sexily clad lighter half a promising glare. It was much to the amusement of the small group that the former spirit was so worked up over Yugi's new look, even going so far as to forget to watch where he was going once or twice. But the one thing they had forgotten was how stubborn the dark teen could be, and he had shown it by avoiding Yugi for nearly the entire day, giving his glares well out of the smaller teen's sight.

"Oh, he was more than obvious..." Jou admitted with a chuckle. And Seto spoke up from behind the blonde, returning from a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up, with ice cold hands against his neck. Jou hissed, smacking the hands away. "I completely agree with that statement, love. It's a pity Yugi never got to witness any of it, though."

Anzu nodded along with Jou, saying. "Yeah, well, that's part of the reason we're all here tonight...I've invited a couple of – " Just then the doorbell rang and she gave them a glance. "And that's probably them now."

She set down the errant piece of mistletoe that she had been nervously toying with and wandered out to the kitchen to answer the door. A grin smoothed over her features as she came face to face with two nearly identical sets of chocolate brown eyes. "Ryou...Bakura...come on in guys."

Ryou gave a quick hug as he presented her with another plate of goodies, but Bakura pointed abruptly back towards the car as he kicked the snow off his boots. "The freaks are still gathering their stuff out of the car. I hope this is going to be good, cause that was a show I didn't want to see!"

"Ah...uh..." Anzu covered her eyes with a grimace. She wouldn't want to see that either.

Ryou merely rolled his eyes, tugging his darker half further into the house as he toed off his boots. "Oh just ignore him...he's just sore that he's not involved."

"With them?" Bakura screeched, insulted. "Not on your life, little light of mine. Gah, makes me sick just thinking about it!"

Not moments later a second pair of near duplicates, their platinum blonde hair blowing wildly in the snowy wind, jogged up the steps and into the house. "Sorry...had to do something..." Malik snickered as he shot his darker half a playful glare – which was returned to him with even more heat, and something else that Anzu was unable to identify.

"_Do something_ is right, beautiful..." Marik purred, causing the whole room to erupt into a fit of blushes and heartfelt groans.

Eventually Anzu recovered from her daze at the taller platinum blonde's insinuation and she ushered the group into the living room. "Okay...that is enough sexual innuendo for the moment. There's virgin ears around here!"

Once the group made it into the living room it was to the howls of Jou's loud laughter and Seto's quiet snickers. Noticing that they were the center of attention the brunette cleared his throat and attempted to look as though he was the innocent party. "I take it you had a little _fun _on your way over?"

"Seto! Virgin ears!" Anzu admonished with a grin.

"Fun?" Bakura snorted. "You would call that fun, Priest. A little voyeuristic are we?

"Who's got virgin ears?" Jou questioned. 

"Bakura! Nice!" Ryou pinched his darker half's arm causing the other to hiss and shoot him a promising glare – to which he retaliated by stomping on his foot. "I mean it, wise-ass! Nice!"

Malik edged away from the glaring duo, choosing a seat on the floor beside the couch with a glance in Jou's direction. "She's probably talking about Ryou. So...how's it hanging?"

"It's good, you?" Jou returned the banter, lightly swatting his fiancée as Seto sat down beside him and gave a quick kiss to his neck. A whisper passed the air between them and Jou turned to growl. "You want to know, you ask him yourself!"

"Hey!" Ryou's belated reply came as he stuck his tongue out at Malik. "I'm not a virgin!"

Rolling his eyes Jou looked at Bakura. "Seto's got somethin to ask ya."

The blonde knew of his boyfriend's trepidation around the two darker halves of their friends. It wasn't that Seto was scared of them, he wasn't, he just didn't know them well enough to accurately judge their threat to those he cared about. Which was absolutely nil now that they had been given their own lives and responsibilities, but the teenage CEO didn't seem to want to acknowledge that fact. And it irritated Jou greatly that the stubborn brunette had refused to get to know them during the time they had attended Domino High School.

In Jou's opinion Battle City was over, and not one of them could claim that they were the same people that they had been before the King of Games was crowned. It was time to let the past lie. And if his boyfriend wasn't willing to do it himself, then he would do it for him.

In the following silence Seto pulled at his tie, suddenly uncomfortable with all the eyes upon him. He had only sought to ask Jou what the two darker halves thought of their new educational institution. He hadn't meant it as a put down, he was genuinely curious as to their thoughts on this new arrangement, being as it separated them from their lighter halves for most of the day – which he would have thought to drive them even more insane than they already were.

Ryou smiled up at Bakura as the silence stretched out. "I think he wants to know about your new school, Kura."

Bakura only rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to bite, Priest, you of all people should know this by now. And it's okay..." He shrugged offhandedly. "I miss my little rabbit, but it was my own stupidity that got me in that mess and so I'm stuck with it until they relent. I'm not going to go psycho on anyone 'cause I happened to screw up and get caught."

Ryou gave a genuine smile as he listened to his darker half's explanation. He had repeatedly warned the two troublesome darkness's that their pranks would end up getting them kicked out of Domino public schools, but neither of them had listened to his advice.

The final straw for the school board had been when the two of them had thought that pulling the fire alarm would be a fun prank. Instead it had resulted in an entire squad of police cars, fire trucks and news crews surrounding their high school, thinking it to be the work of the anonymous person leaving bomb threats – only to find the two culprits laughing themselves into fits in the bathroom on the upper floor as the rest of the student body milled around outside, in the harsh winter weather, waiting to see if the school would be closed down.

Boy had he and Malik lost their tempers that week. Needless to say, the two former pranksters vowed never again to go against the wishes of their lights, or run afoul of the law – for the most part. For, up until that point, the two lighter halves had taken their pranks without a word to the contrary. Neither Ryou nor Malik had bailed them out of juvenile that night, preferring for the two to learn their lesson the hard way, and once the troublemakers were finally released it had turned into a free-for-all with the lighter halves – surprisingly – winning that war. It seemed that withholding sex was a rather powerful weapon.

Marik sucked in a breath as he recalled his foolishness, and the punishment that had followed. "Yeah that was our bad..." He glanced at his smaller duplicate with a repentant grin. "They're supposed to let us come back after the first of the year – if we can prove that we've changed our ways." With the wiggling of his eyebrows, the rest of the group groaned in mock agony.

"Oh come on...we weren't that bad...were we?" Bakura questioned, attempting to look as innocent as possible. But it wasn't working as the group began to make various noises of disagreement. "Aw come on...really?"

"You dropped a bucket of lime green paint on the history teacher and got my hair!" Seto snorted. "And you – " He pointed at Marik. "You stole all of our clothes in gym! And that backdrop behind Ryou's choir...the one that said 'we suck dick by choice' what was that if not bad?"

Both darker halves had the grace to flush as their pranks were thrown back in their faces. From the corner of the room Anzu shook her head. This was not quite what she had in mind for this gathering. After a moment where they were all doing nothing more than looking at each other, not knowing what to say she cleared her throat. "Hey guys...can we get to the point of this gathering before the rest of the group gets here and we have no time to plan?"

Murmurs and nods from all around as the group was more than happy to let the past become just that – the past. Ryou gave her a suspicious look as he tugged Bakura down into a chair so that he could sit in his lap. "Does this have anything to do with Yugi and Atemu?"

Anzu nearly choked on the sip of pop she had just taken. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, neither they nor Miho is here yet so that leads me to believe it has something to do with one or a couple of them...and if you want help getting Atemu with Miho than you're barking up the wrong tree." Malik commented with a raised eyebrow. "Everyone who's anyone knows he's in love with Yugi."

Jou gave a short bark of laughter at the platinum blonde's mistaken assumption. "Nah, actually Ryou's hit it on the nose. Look guys, we all know that Atemu and Yugi are meant for each otha, right? And that Miho's interferin' is getting in the way of that...?"

"Yeah." Four voices exclaimed at one time, before Ryou added with a laugh. "But when she saw Yugi today I thought she was going to choke on her latte. And notice that she left Atemu alone for most of the day too...don't know if it was his mood that put her off, or the sight of Yugi's ass in those pants."

"Probably both." Jou snickered.

"So what's the plan?" Malik questioned, his features more than a little attentive as he glanced around at the three people who seemed to know how they wanted to accomplish this little task. "What do you need us for?"

"Oh nothing drastic." Anzu assured the group. "I'm just going to take care of Miho tonight, and I want you guys to come up with some fun games to play...just a normal get together for our little group. But no setting anything on fire, and no stealing Bakura – cause I don't want to explain to my parents that you were over here without their consent!"

Bakura flushed guiltily, both of them recalling the last time he had been here – being banned shortly afterward for the theft of some high priced kitchen knives that Ryou just happened to find in his possession the very next day.

"Oh, I've got some ideas..." Marik gave off a mischievous grin, causing his lighter half to stare up at him in concern.

"That's fine, just no fires." Anzu repeated. "And another thing – "

She had been about to say no sex in her house, but the doorbell rang again, cutting her off. "I'll be right back." She grinned as she ran to the door.

"Hiya guys!" She exclaimed as she opened the door, ushering the duo out of the freezing cold and into her house. Before she was able to shut the door another person slipped in right behind them, giving a sheepish grin as she passed. "Oh hey Miho...sorry, didn't see you there. Come on in."

Whatever else Anzu had been about to say was lost the moment she turned around, the delectable sight of Yugi in a pair of form-fitting, brilliant white jeans and matching short-sleeved mock turtle neck filling her vision. Her jaw dropped, her eyes nearly popping out of her head as she beheld her friend's angelic appearance.

Apparently Atemu was feeling the same way, for his eyes never left his smaller twin's form from the moment the thick winter coat came off. She swore that the two of them had come straight off the cover of a magazine. Atemu looked just as delicious in his baby blue button down shirt, his ever-present collar peeking over the buttons that he had left undone, a pair of skin-tight black jeans completing the picture, and for a moment she felt faint as she stared between the two of them, wholly unable to help herself.

"Anzu...are you okay?" Yugi's voice came to her as if from a dream, and she shook her head to clear it.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine...why don't we all just make our way into the living room. Everyone else is in there." She replied hastily.

The group shed the rest of their outerwear and wandered into the living room. While looking for an unoccupied place to sit, Miho's gaze found Yugi's form and she gasped out. "Oh my god! Yugi, you look so good! What did you do differently? Did you get your hair cut?"

"I agree. You do look good, bud." Jou commented from his place on the couch. Seto and the others nodded, some giving appreciative compliments as the quiet teen blushed furiously.

"Uh...thanks guys." Yugi responded with a sheepish grin, turning his eyes to his darker half to find that Atemu had a rather disturbed expression. He looked around, not knowing what to think of his other's quicksilver mood changes, only to have Anzu wink at him and nod back at Atemu with a grin.

After greetings were exchanged around the room Malik rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Okay, I got a game for us to play...what do you guys say to a couple of rounds of truth, dare or chicken?"

Yugi edged away from the wild-eyed blonde, giving his darkness a blank look as he was pulled possessively down onto Atemu's lap. When the royal teen only wrapped his arms around him Yugi turned to look back at the lighter half of the platinum-haired duo. "I..uh, what's chicken this time, Malik?"

Malik gave an evil chuckle, settling in closer to his darker half. "If you play the chicken card you have to dress up in a pair of footie pajamas tomorrow and sing Christmas carols at the top of your lungs through the hallways...all day long."

Ryou cringed with a delicate shiver. "Ooh, that's evil!" He exclaimed.

"No more than the last one." Jou reminded them with a roll of his eyes.

The whole group laughed at that, with Miho looking on, confused, since she hadn't been there to see Jou dressed in a leotard, mimicking ballet moves as he danced around the mall while the group was doing their school shopping. Anzu glanced at the blonde girl from the corner of her eye. The guys were doing their part, it was time for her to do hers.

"Hey, Miho...let's get everyone something to drink." She nodded towards the kitchen, knowing that her friend would follow. "You guys can start without us for a moment, we'll be right back.

~ o ~ O ~ o

Once out of their hearing Anzu turned to her friend, her fingers crossed behind her back with the hope that Miho would actually understand she wasn't trying to be mean. "Look, Miho, I know you have a thing for Atemu – "

"Did you see Yugi? Oh my god, he's almost as sexy as his adopted brother!" Miho squealed excitedly. "Maybe Atemu is rubbing off on him. Do you think he'd notice me? Atemu doesn't even spare me a glance..." She trailed off on a pout.

Anzu gave a long-suffering sigh. And then she grabbed her friend by the shoulders, ignoring her gasp of surprise as she dragged her around the corner to watch the scene in the living room. It was time Miho got a reality check. "Miho...look in there and tell me what you see."

Anzu knew, without looking, very well what her friend was seeing. She had purposely dragged her out of the kitchen just to witness the sinfully sexy sight of Yugi sitting in Atemu's lap, wrapped up tightly in his embrace, some mild tickling and flirting passing between the two of them when they found themselves outside the center of attention. The two looked so good together, so right. It was nearly impossible to ignore the gestures and glances that passed between the two of them, which spoke very clearly of their love for each other.

This was what she wanted Miho to see and understand. The girl would have to be blind not to notice their affection towards each other. "Do you see what I do?" Anzu asked again, softly.

"They...they look so good together, Anzu..." Miho replied in a lost, broken voice. "But I thought they...were related..."

Satisfied, Anzu led the way back to the kitchen to pour everyone's drinks. "No, they're not related at all. Grandpa Solomon adopted Atemu while he was in Egypt." Then she glanced over at her friend, her heart going out to the blond when it looked as though she was perilously close to tears. "Oh honey..."

Miho nearly collapsed in her friend's embrace. "I thought...I thought that I...had even the smallest chance...with one of them...oh god, Anzu...I've made such a fool of myself. I'm sorry! I was just so excited..."

"Sh, its okay...I've been there before." Anzu replied. "With both of them actually. Those boys are wet dream material with or without each other."

"What do you mean?" Miho asked tearfully.

Anzu only rolled her eyes at the girl's naiveté. Without a word she crossed the room and grabbed her ever-present notebook out of her backpack. "Have you ever heard of shonen-ai?"

"No...what's that?" Miho asked curiously as she peered at the book Anzu was holding to her chest.

"Here, look at this." Anzu handed over the copy of her latest doujinshi, fully planning on turning her friend into another yaoi fan-girl if she showed even the slightest interest. It would be nice to have an ally amongst all these gorgeous boys.

Miho took the magazine, browsing through it as Anzu popped open a couple of cans of pop and proceeded to pour the contents out into glasses, her eyes widening more with every page. "Oh my...these are..." And then she turned to Anzu, curiosity burning brightly in her eyes. "They're beautiful! Where...where do you get this?"

"I've got a whole stash in my room." Anzu replied with a cheeky grin. "I'll let you borrow some if you want, but right now we're trying to get those boys in there to notice that they both have the same feelings for each other. You wanna help?"

"Please?" Miho turned an imploring gaze on her friend. "I've never done anything like this before. I want to help. They look so good together!"

Anzu handed her a couple of glasses, gathering the rest into her hands. "Take these out to the guys. And for now just sit and watch. We're not going to get into anything major tonight, just some fun...and hopefully a couple of kisses. We don't want to scare them off."

With an excited nod Miho obediently took the glasses and headed out into the living room, just in time to catch Jou's shout of laughter. "You want me to do what?"

Quiet chuckles and outright guffaws were heard from around the room as Bakura explained again, slowing his speech as though talking to a small child. "I. Dare. You. To. Walk. Outside. Naked. And. Do. A. Frontal. Snow-angel...or do you plead chicken?"

"I never plead chicken!" Jou sniffed superiorly, much to the laughter of everyone else in the room.

Without missing a beat the blonde shed almost all of his clothes but his boxers – to the girls' everlasting relief (or disappointment) – and pranced out of the room. He gained more than a couple of followers on his way out the door, where he shed his boxers. Once completely naked, he gave an impertinent bow, flopping face first into a pile of snow, waving his arms and legs around wildly, and leaving behind a melted impression of a deformed angel where the heat of his body came into contact with the fragile snow.

Hoots and howls of laughter followed him from the front porch and into the kitchen as Ryou clicked away on his camera, notions of blackmail and Facebook swimming through his head. By the time the shivering blonde made it back into the room, wrapped up gratefully in a blanket that Anzu had ready and waiting for him on his way into the house, the entire group was in tears. Even his somber boyfriend was laid out on the couch, unable to keep his merriment to himself.

"M-Marik...t-truth...or d-dare?" Jou managed to sputter between shivers.

The larger platinum blonde's eyes widened. Why did he get the feeling he was going to pay for Bakura's prank? "Truth." He answered with a smirk.

For a moment Jou looked almost disappointed, but then he gave an answering smirk, his teeth still chattering despite the warmth of the blanket wrapped around him. "Who's the dominant partner in your relationship?"

That seemed to wipe the smirk off of the taller blonde's face as he slanted an accusing glance back at his lighter half. And Jou's smirk widened. He had heard that things were not as they seemed in the Ishtar household. That, in fact, Malik held the reins, despite all the talk that came from his darker half. Perhaps there was some truth to the rumor after all.

Marik covered his face with his hand as he murmured quietly. "Malikis..."

"What? I didn't hear you!" Jou laughed as he cupped a hand to his ear. 'Who's dominant?"

"Malik is!" Marik growled, flashing an evil glare around the room as they fell out once again.

"Relax Marik, you're not the only one who's gonna get shit tonight." Yugi, of all people, leaned out of Atemu's possessive embrace to set a gentle hand on the intimidating darkness's shoulder.

It was amazing that the two of them even got along, but once the trio of darkness's had gained their right to live a normal life Marik was first the one to approach Yugi with a sincere apology. And the two of them found themselves both sharing the same outlook on life, despite their differences. It was much the same way with Atemu and Bakura, after the two of them had managed to come to the understanding that Atemu was not to blame for the Kru Elna incident. The pair of close friendships that sprang from those original conversations surprising many in the group.

Jou waved off Yugi's promising words with a grin." Yeah, yeah, everyone's got a turn under the microscope tonight. Just go already."

Marik turned to Seto, ready to unleash hell. "Oh Kaiba...truth, dare or chicken?"

The multi-millionaire turned a pasty shade of green as he thought over his choices. This was going to be painful, wasn't it. Finally, after some nudging from his boyfriend, he cleared his throat. "Dare."

Marik raised an eyebrow, his respect for the somber, sometimes overbearing know-it-all doubling as he took the bait with courage. "I dare you to..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Run out to the middle of the street and do ten jumping jacks...in your underwear."

With a curt nod, his eyes flashing retaliation, Seto began to remove his outer layer of clothing. Whistles and cat-calls, someone even going so far as to make up their own music, made him give an embarrassed grin as he stripped down to his boxers, revealing his work-out toned body to the crowd of laughing teens. "Remember Marik...payback's a bitch." He called as he sauntered out of the room, Ryou, camera in tow, right on his heels.

The rest of the group rushed to the front window, watching excitedly as the normally uptight teenage CEO sprinted across the lawn and out into the quiet street. Yugi was the first to succumb to his laughter as the tall brunette began to jump up and down clapping his hands together when they met at the top of his head. Atemu met with the floor a moment later, as a car that had wandered down the street came to a stop, its occupants staring in amazement as the nearly naked blur raced back into the house.

"You are so going to pay for that!" Seto pointed at Marik, one eyebrow raised in challenge, as he gratefully accepted the blanket that Anzu held out for him once he reached the living room.

"Yeah, but it was so worth it!" Marik responded with a laugh.

The group settled back down again, Yugi pulled once more into his darkness's lap, as Seto began to peer around the room looking for a suitable victim. Spying one, he called. "Anzu, truth, dare or chicken?"

"Uh..." Anzu's face colored. "Oh boy...I don't know if I like the choices...truth."

"Name someone you have a crush on." Seto smirked.

Anzu could have beat her head against the wall. She should have known that one was coming. But she really didn't want to have to dress up in a pair of pj's and sing during school, and that was really her only other choice, knowing what the dares entailed. She gave Yugi a sympathetic smile, understanding that the smaller teen was going to take some ribbing for her answer. And then she gave a sly glance over at his near-twin, with the sudden realization that he wouldn't have to be the only one to take the heat.

"A crush on...can I split it between two people?" She questioned. At Seto's nod she glanced again in her friend's direction. "That would have to be Yugi and Atemu..."

More whistles and cat-calls sounded around the room at her announcement. Not like it was much of a surprise, since she hadn't been very discreet about it. But apparently it caught Atemu off-guard, for he turned to her with an astonished expression. Oh yeah, clueless. Feeling slightly giddy she scrunched her eyes up and looked back at him. "What? Is that so surprising?"

That seemed to confuse him even more, as the former Pharaoh sat back against the chair with a completely mystified look. "I...ah..."

Yugi bopped him on the head, just as Ryou turned to the smaller of the two. "If you don't...I'm gonna."

Yugi nodded, shifting slightly, and the three lighter halves tackled Atemu out of the chair. "Wow, talk about oblivious!" Malik shouted as the three of them tickled him into submission. The former Pharaoh squirmed and laughed, but could not manage to throw them off. Eventually they gave into his pleas and let him off the ground, slightly disheveled and grinning from ear to ear. It was amazing to the former spirit that the group accepted him for who he was, and that they didn't treat him with kid gloves. He was never happier to have such a wild, fun group of friends. So many times he wished that he'd had them throughout his first life as well.

And his laughter was contagious as the whole group broke out again. Eventually the other darknesses collected their lighter halves and they settled down once again to see what punishment Anzu would hand out.

She scoured the group with her eyes before her gaze landed on Yugi with an evil grin. He closed his eyes, awaiting his sentence. "Yugi, truth, dare or chicken?"

Oh hell. Yugi squeezed his eyes shut, his heart leaping into his throat. Either way she had him. If he were to say truth, she would make him admit his crush. If he were to say dare she could require him to kiss his darkness. And there was no way he was going to plead chicken. He would lose his voice if he tried to sing in front of a crowd of his classmates. Swallowing thickly he made his choice. "Dare." If he was going to do this he was going to do it with style.

His oldest friend merely gave him a cunning smirk. "I dare you to...do a striptease...dance in front of the group. The way I know you can dance."

Yugi sank lower into his darkness's lap with a furious blush. He knew what she was referring to. It was something that he had always been fascinated with – her dancing. And she had known that too, often using him for a partner, and teaching him how to move, whenever she felt the need to dance. He had picked up the steps rather easily, showing a flair that most boys his age lacked. And now he was going to have to demonstrate before his friends – and his other half. Was she trying to give him a heart attack?

Letting out a deep breath, Yugi finally nodded, waiting as Anzu selected the music on her ipod station. The beginning of the song Paparazzi floated around the room. He was not going to look at Atemu right now, he had felt his darker half's startled surprise when Anzu had handed out her dare. Closing his eyes to drown out the astonished faces of his friends he took his place in the center of the room and began to move his hips to the music, his hand coming down to caress his chest seductively. Once he started moving the beat began to fill him, starting with his feet and winding its way up his body.

His hands worked at the hem of his shirt, as he imagined stripping for his other half. Slowly he drew the material up his chest and over his head, only to toss it carelessly to the side, never once missing a beat. A pair of hands clutched gently at his hips and he almost lost his beat as he heard Anzu's voice from over his shoulder. "I don't mean to steal the show honey, but this's just too a moment good to waste."

She had seen him falter in the beginning of the dance, catching himself not two beats later, and her heart melted at the sight. Her game-boy was doing a really good impression of a seasoned dancer, but he was still a little one the stiff side. Since it was her fault he was currently having to deal with his fear of the spotlight she thought to help him out.

With a grin Yugi acknowledged his oldest friend's attempt to loosen up what could have been a disastrous attempt at public humiliation, swinging her around so that they were facing each other as they continued to move to the beat of the music, his motions automatically becoming more relaxed, less contrived as they each took to their respective positions. They ground their hips together, looking for all the world as though they were having sex with their clothes on, and Anzu leaned into the motions, relishing in the softness of the bare chest the he had revealed.

Her Yugi was such a natural at this, so unconsciously sexy as he took control of their dance, and for a moment she wished that it was her that commanded his thoughts, his fantasies. But it wasn't. And she would have to settle for this small bit of contact, this little piece of his heart. Not that she begrudged Atemu his place in her smaller friend's affections. That wasn't it at all. She just wished there was another one of them to go around sometimes.

It wasn't long before the urge to dance attacked the onlookers, Yugi and Anzu finding themselves no longer the center of attention. Shyly Yugi glanced up at her. "Thank you, Anzu...I wasn't sure if I was going to make it."

She grinned back at him. "No problem." And then she glanced around to find that Atemu was the only one not dancing. In fact, the former Pharaoh was looking most uncomfortable as he stared holes in the floor, his chin in his hand, color high. Without a second thought she dragged Yugi over to where Atemu was sitting, pulling the darker half of the two out of the chair to link their hands together.

If she had been looking closer she would have noticed that Atemu had stiffened the moment she dragged him out of the chair, but she hadn't. "Here, you guys finish this dance, it was supposed to be yours anyways. I'm going to go find some..." She cast her gaze around for some excuse, but didn't get far, as Atemu ripped his hand out of the combined grip of hers and Yugi's, his eyes wide.

"Other...Atemu?" Yugi questioned, his face a flaming shade of red at her slip up.

Oh god, his darker half looked as though he was going to turn and run – the first time he had ever seen an expression like that cross that handsome face. It wasn't that noticeable if one didn't know what to look for, but he knew all too well the signs of his other half's discomfort with a situation. And Atemu was showing it now, his posture tense and rigid, breathing slightly uneven. What had they done? What was he thinking.

Anzu turned, horrified at what she had just said in front of her smaller friend's crush. Her eyes narrowed on Atemu's tense form, sliding over to Yugi's newly defeated posture before she made up her mind. "That's it you two! I've had it with this!" She snapped, snatching both of their hands in an unbreakable grip and towing them out of the room – to the laughter of those left behind, as they realized what was going on.

She didn't stop until she had attained the deserted room down the hall, dragging the confused duo behind her all the way. It was time for this to end. Yugi was miserable, Atemu was miserable, they were meant to be together. If only they could see that. She was not about to let her smaller friend fall apart just because Atemu had gotten a bug up his ass about something. Upon reaching the door to the room she all but tossed the pair inside, giving a long suffering sigh.

"Atemu, Yugi has a crush on you. Yugi, Atemu has a crush on you too. And the two of you are not coming out of this room until you have kissed and made up, you hear me?" Without waiting for an answer she shut the door, locking it with a decisive click, and returned to the party. _Let them explain that one to each other_, she thought with a smirk.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Yugi had frozen from the first of Anzu's words, his face burning with shame as his heart attempted to flee his chest straight up into his throat. This was it. This was where his dreams came crashing down, where his other half told him that he did not like him in that fashion. Swallowing his humiliation past the lump in his throat he peered at the motionless form of Atemu, awaiting his decision silently. There was no way that the former spirit had missed Anzu's little speech.

"Yugi..." Atemu swallowed thickly, his gaze never leaving the wall beside him. "Yes...it is true...I...I am in love with you...but, I am...not...good enough for you, little one. You realize that, do you not? Not after everything that I have done..."

Having said what he needed to Atemu cast his defeated gaze to the floor. He was not, nor would ever be good enough for this small angel who had brought him back to life. This beautiful being who had given so much of himself, just so that he could experience, so that he could exist. After all the strife and chaos that he had brought into Yugi's life he felt that he could not impose anything else on the trusting teen. Yes, he loved his Aibou, more than he loved life itself, but this prize was not for him to claim.

Astonished, Yugi gaped at his other half. Atemu looked so...heartbroken. What had he just said? That he wasn't good enough? What? He ground his teeth together, the temper that he so very rarely displayed rearing its head. What kind of excuse was that? Without taking time to think his actions through in his usual cautious manner the smaller teen tackled his darker half to the bed in the corner of the room, straddling him as he captured his hands above his head.

"You what? What the hell kind of attitude is that?" He snapped, furious that the thought had ever crossed his beautiful darkness's mind.

Atemu stared up at him wide-eyed and startled. "Aibou? What?"

"Don't you dare...just don't! Do you even realize how much you mean to me?" Tears filled Yugi's eyes as he stared down into his darker half's mesmerizing scarlet orbs. "I love you with all of my heart! Don't you dare throw that away, not like this..."

He had no idea these thoughts were running through his other's head. That he felt so unworthy of his affection. And he would not let his darkness's insecurities come between them, not after the other had already admitted that he felt the same way. Atemu belonged to him. Now and forever. "God I love you Atemu...my other half. I want you...no, I need you by my side, now and forever. All those times I've wanted to hold you to me, to protect you from harm just as you've done for me time and time again. Please don't throw this away..."

The tension seemed to flow from Atemu's body at his heartfelt declaration, those gorgeous scarlet eyes staring back at him with so much suppressed emotion that he felt he could drown in their depths. "Please don't let this be a dream..." Atemu murmured softly.

"It's not a dream, Other Me." Yugi soothed, releasing the other's wrists to cup his face gently in his hands. I have always loved you..."

He could practically feel his other half's trembling as he leaned in. They were so close, their breath mingling as Yugi took the first tentative step to his first kiss. Their first kiss. He could feel the erratic beating of his darkness's heart beneath his chest, the way Atemu's hands came up to twine in his hair, the softness of the sun-kissed skin beneath his fingertips. Their eyes met, and then slid closed, as their lips touched gently, hesitantly. A jolt of electricity burst between the two of them the moment their lips met, each of them giving a gasp at the pleasurable sensation.

Yugi slid further down his darkness's lean body, refusing to relinquish those tempting lips as he fitted a leg in between Atemu's. Nibbling lightly on his darker half's lower lip, his hands slipped from their place on his cheek, gliding down his chest, and further down his side, to gently caress his rear end. Atemu gave a content sigh, one of his hands mimicking the actions of Yugi's, to gain the same reaction from his smaller partner. Light, butterfly-like kisses giving way to something more fulfilling, more sensual as Yugi's tongue gained access into his other half's mouth.

Atemu's breath hitched at the unexpected presence, before he settled against Yugi with a low groan. This was everything he had ever dreamed of, but never dared to ask for. He had been for so long without even the slightest understanding of this type of affection that he was certain he would not be good enough for his Aibou. But, once again, his little one was proving him wrong. And such a feeling it was, to be wrong in this instance. His heart felt as though it was near to bursting with a joy so intense that he would never in a hundred lifetimes be able to describe the feeling. His Yugi, his little one.

Finally managing to end the kiss Yugi caressed a tanned cheek. "I love you more than life itself, Other Me...I can't...you...you belong to me...just as I belong to you...don't turn me away...please?"

Atemu merely brushed a stray lock of hair out of the other's face, content just to lie in his arms. "I love you as well, Aibou...I am yours as long as you wish for me to be..."

Feeling slightly devilish with the good mood that had taken over ever since his darkness had allowed their kiss, Yugi pinned the other to the bed and began to tickle him into submission. "Then you belong to me forever and ever and ever, Other Me! I'm never going to let you go now!"

"Ack! Stop!" Atemu squirmed beneath his smaller partner's sudden, and unexpected, attack. "Stop! I give!"

After another moment of torment Yugi sat back on his haunches, his glowing eyes locked with Atemu's. "I love you."

Atemu grinned up at him, his hair in disarray. "I love you too, Aibou."

A squeal from the direction of the doorway announced the presence of the others, as Miho couldn't contain her excitement any longer. "Oh my god! They're so cute!"

"I've got the pictures!" Ryou announced loudly, sticking his tongue out at the wide-eyed duo on the bed.

Jou laughed sadistically at their expressions. "Guess what's goin' on Facebook tonight guys? Hahaha, you're gonna be famous!"

Yugi only groaned, collapsing on top of his darker half in exasperation. "Aw come on! What's a guy got to do to get a little privacy around here?"

"You're not getting' any anyways, so give it up, Yugi!" Jou gave another short bark of laughter that had the entire group in tears as they caught sight of Yugi and Atemu's heated faces.

Giving a hardy chuckle Yugi glanced back to see how Atemu was taking their friends' interruption, and a question came to his mind. "Hey, Other Me, what were you so freaked out about back there, in the living room?"

Atemu gave him a sheepish grin, whispering conspiratorially. "I had thought that you were going to make me join the dance...I do not understand the dancing of this time..."

A rather astonished expression crossed his features and Yugi looked down at the darker teen with a wicked grin. "Well...we'll just have to do something about that then won't we?"

Atemu only wrapped him up in a crushing embrace, refusing to answer the question as he buried his face in Yugi's hair. The group at the door howled with laughter as they too heard the quiet conversation. And then Yugi began to laugh as well. To laugh and laugh and laugh, hugging Atemu even closer against him. This was everything he ever wanted. To be happy, to have family and friends that loved him, and to have someone special to hold close to his heart. This would definitely be a Christmas to remember.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Whew! Done! Merry Christmas all! Please review? (chibi eyes)


End file.
